BY MADELINE GELMETTI Action Based Research Project Absenteeism & The Effects of Extra After-School Academics and The Reward System

Absenteeism Absenteeism in relation to…  Academics  Social skills  Ability to cope  Life skills  Negative reinforcement Purpose of research: Help identify factors that will have a positive impact on encouraging students with chronic absenteeism to attend school.

Variables 1.) Add an extra academic period after school -Will be one-on-one with a teacher -Provides time to complete homework, class work and any missed assignments -Each teacher will be assigned a day of the week to stay after -Log to keep track of days stayed after and work completed 2.) Set up a reward system -Will be kept track of by student on calendar in the Learning Center -Rewards will be given after a predetermined set number of consecutive days of attendance -Examples of rewards are lunch with a teacher, activity with a friend, homework pass etc.

Relative Research Literature When attempting to increase attendance, having an organized plan to increase student self-esteem and success will make a positive impact. Academic support for students who are underachievers can increase attendance as well. (Education Partnerships I. 2009)  This is the basis for providing and after-school academic period Focusing in on attendance and having students aware that teachers are tracking them may make an impact in itself. (Peek, 2009)  When teachers show they care, students will care. Social interactions help motivate students to want to complete their work. The reward system is an extrinsic motivator in academic achievements. (Girmus 2012)  Both which are combined in my reward system

Research Questions What factors can be changed in the school setting in order to help increase student attendance when it is due to lack of motivation and stress?  Would a reward system help increase student attendance?  Do designated homework/work periods help make school less stressful, therefore increasing attendance?

Methodology Participants  Chloe, myself and all of her general education teachers  Chloe has a very rough home life  No parental involvement to support schooling  Very bright but “social outcast” within her grade  Shows many signs of depression Setting  In school, during school hours and after school days when Chloe attends her extra help period Assessments  School attendance records  Weekly recap with Chloe  After-school academics time & assignment long  Reward system attendance calendar

Hypothesis Providing and encouraging Chloe to attend the after- school extra academic period paired with the reward system will increase Chloe’s average attendance.

Baseline Data Month # of Days Absent # of Days Tardy # of School Days Overall % of Absence % Tardy % Tardy or Absent September462020%30%50% October15225%23%28% November311817%6%23% December331520% 40% Total16 100

Extra Academic Period Outcome

Month # of Days Absent # of School Days Overall % of Absence January1205% February1Currently: 13 Total: 20 Currently: 7% Possible: 5% The month of February is not yet over. If Chloe can continue to keep up her attendance, she could possibly go another month with only one day of absence.

Percent of Chloe’s Absence Per Month P e r c e n t o f d a y s

Chloe’s Personal Feedback January 9 th  -Likes having one-on-one help with homework and class work for when she doesn’t understand what is being asked of her  Sometimes it is annoying to not go home but always feels better about getting things done afterwards  Feels confident enough to do tonight’s homework since we verbally discussed the directions and what is expected for the assignment  Enjoys that I put on the Pandora music station while she does work  Does not like to do her school work and homework though. It is “too hard” and she doesn’t have time at home to do it January 16 th  Only went twice this week because she didn’t feel she needed the extra help on Monday and Tuesday although she had make-up homework we worked on for almost 2 hours today  Enjoys spending the time with her teachers, especially me since she only works with me 30 minutes a day now instead of our usual 1 hour  Some days it is annoying to stay after January 23 rd  Enjoys knowing that she can work on homework after school, it has helped her feel less stressed. January 30 th  Although sometimes she is too tired to stay after, it really helps when she does. This is the primary time in which she does missed class work and all of her homework.  Chloe says she likes having the option to stay after school when she needs the help. February 11 th (supposed to be on the 6 th but school closed early)  Missed school Monday, February 3 rd due to being too tired to come to school. Chloe said her dogs kept her awake all night and she just couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

Conclusion Although I have not been able to start the reward system will Chloe, I feel as though the extra academic period after school has decreased her absenteeism (aka increased her attendance). I feel as though the reasons for this being so effective are:  She was shown that her teachers do care about her enough to take time from their own schedule to help.  Her attendance was a big enough issue for educators to want to help.  The after school period decreased the stressors of school that usually would be the cause of absence

References Education Partnerships, I. (2012). Successful attendance policies and programs. Research Brief. Education Partnerships, Inc, Peek, S. D. (2009). Integrating effective and beneficial interventions to increase student attendance in an elementary school setting. Georgia School Counselors Association Journal, 16(1), Selart, M., Nordstrom, T., Kuvaas, B., & Takemura, K. (2008). Effects of reward on self-regulation, intrinsic motivation and creativity. Scandinavian Journal Of Educational Research, 52(5), Goh, A. E., & Bambara, L. M. (2012). Individualized positive behavior support in school settings: A meta- analysis. Remedial And Special Education, 33(5), Marvul, J. N. (2012). If You Build It, They Will Come: A successful truancy intervention program in a small high school. Urban Education, 47(1), Girmus, R. L. (2012). How to motivate your students. Online Submission Usher, A., Kober, N., & Center on Education, P. (2012). 2. Can money or other rewards motivate students?. Center On Education Policy