1. Addressing Chronic Absence
Implementing an Elementary Success Mentor Strategy
October

2. Please mute when not speaking for best sound.
Housekeeping
Please mute when not speaking for best sound.
You can use the chat box to communicate if you don’t want to do so verbally

3. Welcome from the US Department of EducationUS Department of Education
Eric Duncan MBK Success Mentors Coordinator USDOED

4. Unifying champion for expanding quality youth mentoring relationships in the US for more than 25 years.
Develops and delivers evidence-based standards, innovative research and essential tools for youth-serving programs, including the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™
Supports a network of 26 Mentoring Partnerships and 50+ Technical Assistance Providers who support mentoring programs locally.
Manages the National Mentoring Resource Center, which provides no- cost training and technical assistance to mentoring programs nationwide.

5. Attendance Works: About Us
Attendance Works is a national and state initiative that promotes awareness of the important role that school attendance plays in achieving academic success starting with school entry. We are an implementation partner for attendance with the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
Our three focus areas to improve student attendance are:
Build public awareness and political will
Foster state campaigns
Encourage local practice

6. Generate excitement about launching elementary success mentor efforts
Desired Outcomes
Generate excitement about launching elementary success mentor efforts
Nurture peer learning and exchange
Ensure awareness of available resources (especially free on-line materials)

7. II. Quick Review of Key Concepts III. Introductions
Agenda
I. Welcome
II. Quick Review of Key Concepts
III. Introductions
IV. Panel Discussion: What does it take to launch and support a successful Success Mentor Strategy?
IV. Running a successful school-based mentoring program
V. Elementary Success Mentor Toolkit

8. What is Chronic Absence?
Chronic absence is missing so much school for any reason that a student is academically at risk. Attendance Works recommends defining it as missing 10% or more of school for any reason.
Chronic
Absence
Excused absences
Unexcused absences
Suspensions
Chronic absence is different from truancy (unexcused absences only) or average daily attendance (how many students show up to school each day).

9. Chronic Absence Vs. Truancy

10. Chronic Absence = 18 days of absence = As Few As 2 days a month
Chronic Absence Is Easily Masked If We Only Monitor Missing Consecutive days
It’s easy not to notice when your child may be missing too much school. 10% of a school year is about 18 days of absence. That sounds like a lot but when you break it down, that’s just two days a month. Most parents don’t get too stressed out if their child misses two days of class in a month. But when it happens month after month, it becomes a problem. Why?
Chronic Absence = 18 days of absence = As Few As 2 days a month

11. Multiple Years of Chronic Absenteeism = High Risk for low 3rd Grade Reading Skills
The impact increases with multiple years of chronic absence. Experience indicates turning chronic absence around within 2 two years leaves a reasonable opportunity for students to recuperate academically from the lost time. Three consecutive years or more of chronic absence leaves gaping deficits. For principals this puts a very high priority on preventing or abating chronic absence from the outset of schooling.
Note: ***Indicates that scores are significantly different from scores of students who are never chronically absent, at p<.001 level. + In the DIBELS 6th Edition Assessment and Scoring Guide (Good & Kaminksi, 2002), these are labeled as “Some Risk,” indicating the need for additional intervention and “At Risk,” indicating the need for substantial interventions.

12. Chronic Early Absence Connected to Poor Long- Term Academic Outcomes
Chronic absence in kindergarten
Lower levels of
literacy in first grade
Lower achievement as far out as fifth grade
A Rhode Island Data Hub analysis found that compared to kindergartners who attend regularly, those chronically absent:
Scored 20% lower in reading and math in later grades and gap grows
2X as likely to be retained in grade.
2X likely to be suspended by the end of 7th grade.
Likely to continue being chronically absent
Chronic early absence is the percentage of children in grades K-3 that miss 10% or more of the school year (or 18+ days in a 180-day school year).
Research shows that children who are chronically absent in kindergarten
Show lower levels of literacy in 1st grade
AND that chronic absence in kindergarten can predict lower achievement as far out as the 5th grade.
It is easy to overlook the prevalence of chronic early absence and think you don’t have an attendance problem if you only look at average daily attendance.
BUT in 2012, Rhode Island’s 4 core cities had an average daily attendance rate of 94%, BUT almost 1 in 5 students (19%) were chronically absent.
Chronic early absence can be reduced by using data to regularly identify and intervene with students who have multiple absences, engaging, educating and providing supports for families, personalizing the educational experience for all students, and educating communities to support school attendance.

13. Identifying Students Are Chronically Absent Throughout the Year
Chronic absence (missed 10% or more of school) in the prior year, assuming data is available.
And/or starting in the beginning of the school year, student has:
In first 2 weeks
2 absences
In first month (4 weeks)
2-3 absences
Missing 10% any time after
In first 2 months (8 weeks)
4 absences

14. Elementary Success Mentors Should Be Embedded in a Comprehensive Tiered Approach.

15. CHRONICALLY ABSENT STUDENT
CONNECT WITH MENTOR

16. Where are you in implementing an elementary success mentor strategy?
Introductions
Name
Position
Where are you in implementing an elementary success mentor strategy?
What is one thing you hope to learn today?

17. What does it take to launch and support a successful Elementary Success Mentor Strategy?
Panel Discussion:
Where have you implemented an elementary success mentor strategy? (How many schools? How many children served?)
Who are your elementary success mentors? What did you do to equip them?
What has been most successful about your elementary effort?
What has been hardest?

18. Year One Implementation Results

19. Year One Implementation Results

20. Tracking Students, Coaches, and Interventions

21. Elements of a Successful School-Based Mentoring Program

22. Key Roles of the Mentoring Program Coordinator
Outreach to youth and parents & orientation to program
Recruitment & screening of mentors
Training of mentors
Matching youth and mentors with intentionality
Providing structured support to mentors
Regular check-ins with youth and parents
Identify/respond to family needs

23. How to request no-cost help for your program
Receive customized, no-cost local support from MENTOR’s network of TA Providers to address challenges like:
Developing a recruitment plan to meet the need for mentors
Developing a mentor training curriculum to equip mentors with the skills for success
Developing a plan to support mentors in responding to relationship challenges and concerns.
Visit: to get started

24. Who can serve as a Success Mentor?
To get to scale we need to leverage all available resources and adults.
Internal Mentors – School staff including administrative, teaching, and support staff
External Mentors – School based partners including after-school program providers, tutors, and other school based partnerships
Mentor – Can help with their mentor connections

25. Tackling the Early Attendance Gap
A Toolkit for Launching An Elementary Success Mentor Initiative
Draft Toolkit Available now at : Anticipated Public Release: September 2016

26. What is Covered in this Toolkit?
Contact to contribute resources or offer feedback.

27. How is working with younger students different?
Family Engagement: Engaging a elementary student’s family is essential to understanding why a student is missing school, motivating good attendance and addressing barriers to getting to school.
Mentor Selection: Especially with young children, the mentor should be closely connected to the school and able to help build a positive relationship between the family and the school community.

28. Upcoming Webinar
Tuesday, November 1, 2016:  Attendance Awareness All Year Long:  Inspiring and Sustaining Progress, 11-12:30 pm (PT) / 2-3:30 pm (ET).  Registration is now open!
After Attendance Awareness Month is over, how can schools and communities reach out to families and students to encourage good attendance all year long? Join Attendance Works and our special guests as they share how to use attendance data to anticipate and counter dips in daily attendance that routinely occur over the course of the school year, ideas for leveraging the success of Attendance Awareness Month throughout the year, strategies for engaging families and students whose absences are adding up, and free resources for messaging all year long about the importance of attendance.