________________________________________ Director, Hedy Chang, REVISED January 2011

The 3 As School Success Framework Attendance Every Day Achievement Every Year Attainment Over Time Developed by Annie E Casey Foundation & America’s Promise Alliance For more info go to

Chronic Absence: missing 10% or more of school over an academic year for any reason. Research shows 10% is associated with declining academic performance. No standard definition exists. Severe Chronic Absence: missing 20% or more of school over an academic year for any reason. Satisfactory Attendance: missing 5% or less over an academic year for any reason. Truancy: refers only to unexcused absences. Average Daily Attendance: the percent of enrolled students who attend school each day.

When is Attendance Problematic? Chronic Absence (=> 10% absence) Warning Signs ( 5% absence) Satisfactory Attendance (=<5% absence) 4

Myths to Dispel #1: Attending Kindergarten doesn’t really matter for academic success. #2: Missing school isn’t a big problem until middle or high school. #3: Most educators monitor chronic absence #4: Because attendance is a family responsibility, we cannot do anything to address chronic absence. 5 5

Source: National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) Early Impact on Academics Chronic K absence is associated with lower academic performance in 1st grade for all children, especially reading for Latino children. 6 6

Among poor children, chronic absence in kindergarten predicted lower 5 th grade achievement. Source: Chang & Romero, 2008 Chronic K Absence Affects 5 th Grade 7 7

Poor Attendance Predicts Drop Out by 6 th Grade Source: Baltimore Education Research Consortium 8 8

By 9 th Grade, Attendance Can Predict Graduation Better than Test Scores Source: Allensworth & Easton, What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools, Consortium on Chicago School Research at U of C, July 2007 On Time Graduation Correlation to 9 th Grade Attendance Chronic Absence 9

New York City Schools COMPARING CHRONIC ABSENCE MEASURES PK-12 A 407 alert is issued when student misses 10 consecutive days or 20 days over a 40 day period. It misses more sporadic absence. 1 out of 5 elementary school children were chronically absent. Source: Nauer K et al, Strengthening Schools by Strengthening Families, Center for New York City Affair,s New School, Oct 2008 Chronic Absence Can Reach High Levels 10

Most Do Not Monitor Chronic Absence Most schools only track average daily attendance and truancy. Both can mask chronic absence. 11 Chronic Absence Rates Variance Baltimore School vs with Attendance Rates > 95% 11

Most Do Not Monitor Chronic Absence Data rarely used to examine problematic attendance patterns (e.g. by classroom, grade, school, neighborhood or sub-population. Individual student attendance is not required by current federal laws (e.g. NCLB, RTT). Most states do not report on chronic absence though a few exceptions exist. 12

Characteristics of Effective Strategies Partner with community agencies to help parents carry out their responsibility to get children to school. Make attendance a priority, set targets and monitor progress over time. Examine factors contributing to chronic absence, especially from parent and student perspectives. Clearly communicate expectations to parents. Begin early, ideally in Pre-K. Combine universal and targeted strategies. Offer positive supports before punitive action. Source: Present, Engaged & Accounted For Schools + Communities CAN Make a Difference 13

A Comprehensive Programmatic Response 14

Begins with Universal Supports Universal Attendance Supports Safe, inviting classroom and school environment Engaging opening activities Consistent attendance messages Intentional family participation Regular, explicit teaching of attendance expectations and skills System of Reinforcement School-wide incentive systems Classroom incentive systems Parent Communication Systems Attendance emphasized in all communications Rapid parent contact for unexplained absence Positive contact when positive trends noted Individual Assessment/Community Supports Identify barriers and provide support Provide mentoring Interagency Staffing Case management and wrap-around services Legal Consequences Attendance Officer Support Students Adapted from Scott Perry, Attendance Audit, Southern Oregon Education Service District 15

1. Create attendance data team to regularly review patterns of good attendance & chronic absence by grade, classroom and sub-population. 2. Offer attendance incentives school-wide. 3. Educate parents, starting ideally in pre-K, that attendance matters & encourage them to help each other get to school. 4. Reach out to chronically absent students & their families & find out barriers to attendance. 5. Partner with community agencies and parents to promote attendance & address barriers. 6. Include strategies to improve attendance in annual school improvement plan. For Practice

Policy Implications 1.Track absences for individual students, starting in pre-K 2.Adopt standardized definition of absence at local, state and federal level. 3.Include attendance in longitudinal student data systems. 4.Calculate & report on chronic absence by district, school, grade & sub-population (along with other attendance measures). Include in data dashboards and other electronic communications. 5.Establish school & district attendance teams to review data and develop programmatic and policy responses.

Policy Implications 6.Address chronic absence in school improvement plans. 7.Offer incentives for schools, educators and community partners (e.g. preK, afterschool, etc.) to improve attendance and reduce chronic absence. 8.Invest in professional development to help educators recognize chronic absence as an early warning sign and adopt strategies for improving attendance. 9.Use chronic absence to guide allocation of relevant community resources (e.g. pre-K, health care & insurance, afterschool, free tax prep & EITC outreach).