1. Attendance & Truancy Among Virginia Students
Module 9: The Power of Positive Connections: Providing Personalized Early Outreach
Welcome to Module 9 of a twelve-session series entitled Attendance and Truancy Among Virginia Students, a collaboration between the Virginia Department of Education and Attendance Works, a national and state initiative that promotes better policy and practice around school attendance. This session is entitled The Power of Positive Connections: Providing Personalized Early Outreach, and provides a framework for engaging students and families who have become chronically absent, including a review of evidence-based strategies for decreasing chronic absence. Please note that there is a Facilitator/Participant companion guide for each session which is located on the Virginia Department of Education Web site. The facilitator/participant companion guide allows viewers, whether working individually or in a group, to follow each session and answer reflection questions and create a working document to address the critical issues related to attendance and truancy in schools, divisions, and communities.
As the facilitator you should make sure to set the stage for the group. Thank them for being there and give them an overview for the purpose of gathering this group. Introduce yourself and your team and share with them the goal and expectations for your time together, such as the school division has determined to update its strategies for combatting absenteeism.
Introductions: For smaller groups invite each person to introduce themselves. For larger groups rather than have individual introductions you can organize groups of people by asking people to stand up based on categories such as school superintendents, the heads of student services, principal, teacher, social worker, etc. based on the appropriate categories for your school division.
Presentation Description
Module nine provides a framework for engaging students and families who have become chronically absent including a review of evidence based strategies for decreasing chronic absence.
Facilitation
Have the participants review the module and reflections. Each reflection is designed to help participants further their understanding and learning of key concepts, frameworks, and strategies for reducing chronic absence.

2. The Purpose
This PowerPoint serves as No. 9 in a series of modules designed to equip Virginia school divisions to reduce truancy and absenteeism.
This module identifies challenges to good attendance including health and transportation barriers.
Slide narration:
This learning module provides resources, information, and strategies for identifying barriers to good attendance.
Facilitator: Review the purpose of the module with the participants.

3. Today’s Agenda Learning goals review What is the PEOPLE strategy
How to identify students for Tier II outreach
Evidence-based Tier II intervention strategies
Narrative: This sessions agenda includes a Learning Goals Review, the PEOPLE Strategy, how to identify students for Tier 2 outreach, and evidence-based Tier 2 strategies.

4. Learning Goals
Educators will learn about the PEOPLE strategy (Priority Early Outreach for Positive Linkages and Engagement).
Educators will learn how to identify which students require personalized early outreach.
Educators will learn about evidence based, Tier II intervention strategies.
Facilitator: Educators will learn about the PEOPLE strategy (Priority Early Outreach for Positive Linkages and Engagement), how to identify which students require personalized early outreach, and learn about evidence based, Tier II intervention strategies.

5. Warm Up
Think of a student you worked with who was missing 2 or more days a month.
What were the underlying barriers to his or her attendance?
How quickly did school staff connect with the student to understand what was happening?
Slide narration/reflection: Take a moment to reflect on a student you worked with who was missing 2 or more days a month.
What were the underlying barriers to his or her attendance?
How quickly did school staff connect with the student to understand what was happening?
Facilitator: You’ll need to decide the best way to warm up your group. Do you have people working in teams at tables? Or is the session audience style? Depending on how people are grouped in the room will determine the best way to facilitate the warm up. You’ll want people to work individually then talk among themselves. Once the group has had about 10 minutes to discuss, bring them back to a full group interaction. Depending on the size of the group there are different options to report out:
For individual learners, write down your response.
If the participants are working in small groups, invite each group to identify a recorder and a reporter. Have each person read their list aloud. The recorder should put a check by each repeated answer. At the end of the report out, the group should have a visual record of the most common reasons for student absences. If there is a large group sitting audience-style, ask the participants to pair and share their responses to the questions. Invite feedback popcorn-style and have someone document what is shared on chart paper or white board. Each time an answer is repeated, put a check next to it. These then are the most common reasons identified by the group for student absences.

6. The Power of Positive Connections: Strategies to Engage Students who are Chronically Absent
Slide narration: The Power of Positive Connections toolkit created by Attendance Works emphasizes strategies that promote engagement and connection with students who are at-risk for chronic absence and missing 10% or more of their days on role.

7. Priority Early Outreach for Positive Linkages and Engagement (PEOPLE)
Priority: Focuses on at-risk students in grades, schools and neighborhoods with high levels of chronic absence.
Early: Begins with the start of school.
Outreach: Connects to students and families.
Positive: Promotes preventive, supportive approaches rather than punitive responses.
Linkages: Taps the full community for support.
Engagement: Motivates showing up to class & offers students & families a role in improving attendance.
SLIDE narration: The Power of Positive Connections promotes the PEOPLE strategy:
Prioritizing at-risk students,
Promoting engagement at the earliest signs of chronic absence,
Personalized outreach to students and their families,
Focusing on positive and supportive strategies,
Linking students and families to supports and services, and
Engaging students and families in identifying solutions
Reflection:
The PEOPLE strategy promotes early outreach as soon as a student becomes chronically absent. In your experience are students who are missing too much school referred for personalized outreach quickly enough? If not what would help your school engage student and families about absenteeism in a more timely manner?

8. Tier II Interventions
Tier II: Targeted interventions that remove identified barriers and increase positive connections that motivate improved attendance.
Who are the families in Tier II?
Missing 10% or more of the prior or current school year for any reason.
Families experiencing some challenge e.g. chronic disease, job loss, divorce, etc.
For which families is Tier II sufficient?
Families with barriers to school attendance who may not understand how to access support.
Families who see school as “the deliverer of bad news”.
Families who are more successful when there is a positive relationship with someone at the school.
Slide narration: Tier two strategies are about targeted interventions for students who are missing 10 percent or more of the current school year or in the past school year. These interventions aim to remove identified barriers and increase positive connections.

9. Includes higher level of support for Priority Students
Recommended Site Level Strategies
Includes higher level of support for Priority Students
Slide narration: When thinking about Attendance Works’ five site-based strategies to address chronic absence, schools can use all five strategies at Tier 2 but the intensity of the interventions increase. That means the positive recognition of students as soon as they show signs of improved attendance and engaging them and their families to understand the underlying barriers to attendance. Outreach should be personalized and connect directly to the student and their family, and the student’s attendance should be monitored daily to ensure that they don’t continue to miss too much school.

10. Missing 10% any time after
Criteria for Identifying Priority Students for Tier II Supports
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
Slide narration: Use your data to identify which students are chronically absent and in need of the PEOPLE strategy. By using a percent measure you can identify students who are at-risk at any point in the year, students who miss 2 days in the first two weeks of school, 2 or more days in the first month of school, or who are missing an average of 2 or more days a month at any point in the school year.

11. Percent chronically absent at the end of the school year
Missing 2 or More Days in 1st Month is a Warning Sign for Chronic Absence
Percent chronically absent at the end of the school year
Baltimore students who missed 2-4 days in September were 5x as likely to be chronically absent.
Students who missed 5+ days in September were 16x as likely to be chronically absent.
Slide narration: Analysis from research conducted in Baltimore, MD demonstrates that chronic absence at the beginning of the school year predicts that a student will end the year chronically absent. In this analysis students who missed 2-4 days in the first month of school were five times as likely to end the year chronically absent, and students who missed 5 or more days of school were 16 times as likely to end the school year chronically absent.
Reflection:
Students can be chronically absent as early as the first two weeks of school, early absenteeism predicts that students will likely continue to miss too much school. Were you surprised to learn that September attendance data can be used to identify and intervene with students who are likely to be chronically absent by the end of the year? When reaching out to families and their students about absences in September, how would you approach the conversation?

12. Possible Tier II Interventions
Recruit for engaging Before- or After-School Activities
Partner with families/students to develop Student Attendance Success Plan
Connect to Walk- to-School Companion
Positive Linkages and Engagement for Students and Families
Offer plan or contacts for Health Support
Assign Attendance Buddies
Slide narration: Tier 2 strategies are about building a relationship with students and their families and working with them to understand the underlying causes contributing to the absences so that the appropriate intervention can be put in place in partnership with the student and their family. Possible Tier 2 interventions include assigning an attendance buddy, engaging the student in after-school activities, helping the student get to school every day, or putting in place health supports to help a family manage chronic illness.
Reflection: Which of these interventions has your school tried? Which do you think would work at your site?

13. Mentors & Supporting Infrastructure Improved Student Attendance
New York City students with prior histories of chronic absenteeism with a Success Mentor gained nearly two additional weeks of school (9 days).
In the top 25% of schools, students with Success Mentors gained one additional month of school.
High School students with Success Mentors (including those overage for their grade) were 52% more likely to remain in school the following year.
Students reported they liked having a mentor and the mentor helped improve their attendance, schoolwork, motivation, and confidence.
Slide narration: When New York City schools implemented a program called Success Mentors, students with mentors on average gained 9 additional days of school and the schools that had the greatest success saw their students increase their attendance by an additional month of school. Success mentors or attendance buddies can be school-based staff, partner organizations, or older students. The role of an attendance buddy is to make a connection and keep a close, supportive eye on a few students who are at-risk for chronic absence. The attendance buddy checks on the student every day, preferably in the morning, to let that student know that someone cares that he or she is in school. The attendance buddy may also help identify underlying causes for chronic absence, and refer the student to additional supports and services as necessary.
Reflection:
Research shows that students who are connected to a caring adult are more likely to attend school regularly and graduate from school. Are there a group of students in your school who are chronically absent for whom the attendance buddy strategy would likely help them improve their attendance? Who are the people in your school that would be willing to volunteer to be an Attendance Buddy?
Resources:
Tools for implementing the Attendance Buddy Strategy:

14. Make Creating Back Up Plans a Norm: Student Attendance Success Plan
Slide narration: The Student Attendance Success Plan can be a useful tool to use when working with families to identify strategies and supports that will improve their child’s attendance. The tool can also help educators unmask underlying issues that may be outside of the family’s ability to manage without additional support.

15. Implementing PEOPLE Strategy1
Determine where to begin PEOPLE using a data-driven approach
Establish a team to implement PEOPLE
Examine which students need PEOPLE
Connect students and families to positive supports
Reflect and celebrate 2 5 4 3
Slide narration: To determine where to begin with the PEOPLE strategy first begin with your attendance team and together determine what data you will use to identify which students are most likely to be responsive to Tier 2 strategies that engage and support students and families.

16. Use Data to Determine Where to Focus:
A Typical District’s Chronic Absence Data By Grade
Facilitator’s talking points: In some schools where the chronic absence rate is relatively low, the school team may be able to investigate and identify the appropriate Tier 2 strategy for each student who is chronically absent. In other schools with larger populations of students who are chronically absent, the team may need to analyze the data closely and choose a population to begin with. A breakdown of chronic absence by grade level can help guide that process.

17. Who Can Help Advance a PEOPLE Approach?
Division Leaders
Offer district support and data
Identify and engage priority schools
School Leaders
PEOPLE
Make attendance a priority
Ensure implementation team and plan
Community Partners
Call for data & PEOPLE approach
Link to community resources (health, afterschool, food, mentoring, family support, etc.)
Slide narration: The PEOPLE strategy can be supported by division leadership helping ensure that schools have access to the right data to identify which students are chronically absent, by school leaders that make attendance a priority and use a tiered intervention strategy to manage absenteeism, and by community partners offerings resources and support.
More information:
For more information on tier 2 strategies that can help to support and engage students and their families please refer to the Power of Positive Connections tool kit:

18. Learn More
For more information on Tier II strategies that can help to support and engage students and their families please refer to the Power of Positive Connections tool kit:
More information:
For more information on Tier 2 strategies that can help to support and engage students and their families, please refer to the Power of Positive Connections tool kit on the Attendance Works Web site.

19. Virginia Absenteeism & Truancy Professional Development Series
1. Understanding Chronic Absenteeism
2. Frameworks for Reducing Chronic Absence
3. Establishing School Attendance Teams
4. Using Data to Drive Action
5. Messaging Attendance
6. Integrating Attendance In Parent Engagement
7. Utilizing Parent-Teacher Conferences to Talk with Families about Attendance
8. Recognizing Good and Improved Attendance
9. Providing Personalized Early Outreach
10. Identifying barriers
11. Creating opportunities for peer learning
12. Engaging Community Partners
13. State Attendance Laws and Regulations
Slide narration: Thank you for taking the time to review module nine. The next module in this series, module 10, is entitled “Identifying Barriers.” Thank you.