CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction March 5, 2015 California County Offices of Education Attendance Peer Learning Network

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. -Albert Einstein It is safe to say that we have an attendance problem in too many California schools. We know that students are more likely to succeed in life when they start out attending school regularly. When students are not in school they are more likely to get “schooled” about life in not the best of ways. Dropout patterns are linked with poor attendance beginning in kindergarten. School budgets are linked to attendance and schools with high absences have less money to address essential classroom needs.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Let’s Stay with this Problem and Make A Difference: The California Attendance Peer Learning Network A partnership of: California Department of Education Attendance Works California County Superintendents Educational Services Association Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Attendance Peer Learning Network Goals Enhance county capacity to support districts in addressing the problem of chronic absence Reduce rates of chronic absence (defined as missing 10 percent of the school year for any reason) in the elementary grades to raise student achievement Draw on collective wisdom, knowledge, and resources across partners to co-create solutions

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Attendance Peer Learning Network Goals (Cont.) Build better bridges between counties and regional networks to provide resources to support stakeholders Carefully examine progress and outcomes to identify ways to replicate in the future Increase statewide awareness of relationship between chronic early absence and academic achievement, existing intervention strategies, and promising practices throughout California

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction California Context Chronic Absence in the Elementary Grades is a Major Barrier to Achievement An estimated 250,000 students (K–5) were Chronically Absent in 2013–14. Source: Office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris. In School + On Track 2014

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Benefits of Reducing Chronic Absence Starting with the Elementary Grades Increase funding for districts (More Average Daily Attendance) Chronic absence (missing 10 percent of school for any reason including excused and unexcused absence) in elementary school has often been overlooked Reduce negative student outcomes linked with absenteeism such as lack of proficiency in reading by third grade and eventual course failure and dropout.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction What Will We Do Together? Increase County Office of Education Capacity to Support Districts to: Analyze each district’s elementary attendance data to identify how much chronic absence is a problem and where is it concentrated. Partner with school site leaders and community agencies to implement a tiered approach to improving attendance Build capacity of principals to put in place effective strategies for reducing chronic absence in their elementary schools

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction County Office of Education Role Each County Office of Education will have the opportunity to: Designate a skilled staff person to receive support and resources as the county project lead and local facilitator Offer three school district teams from their county the chance to participate in a high quality peer learning experience Partner with CDE and Attendance Works to provide coaching calls to help local teams advance in their work

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Our Proposed Roadmap

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction How Do We Travel Down This Road When Our Cars Have Limited Fuel? We will work together to examine both the needs of the project and the needs of the adults engaged in this important work. We will commit to collaboratively responding to the questions and challenges we will surely have along the way.

TOM TORLAKSON State Superintendent of Public Instruction Questions?