1. July 4, 2014 July What’s Happening? Wednesday Chronic Absence and Critical Early Warning Signs

2. Goal of the Call: Sue Fothergill, Senior Policy Associate at Attendance Works, will provide insight into what it takes to reduce chronic absenteeism Get a snapshot of what United Ways are doing from a local California perspective with Ed Center, VP of Education, United Way of the Bay Area Provide concrete tools for your United Way to Leverage 2

3. www.attendanceworks.org Reducing Chronic Absence Why Does it Matter? What Does It Take? Sue Fothergill, Senior Policy Fellow, Attendance Works Spring /Summer 2014

4. Why focus on Chronic Absence? Excused Absences Unexcused absences Suspensions Chronic Absence Chronic Absence is missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason – this includes excused and unexcused absences. Chronic absence is different from truancy (unexcused absences only) or average daily attendance (how many students show up to school each day.

5. 90% and even 95% ≠ A High Levels of ADA Can Mask Chronic Absence 5 98% ADA = little chronic absence 95% ADA = don’t know 93% ADA = significant chronic absence

6. 6  Nationwide, as many as 7.5 million students miss nearly a month of school every year. That’s 135 million days of lost time in the classroom.  In some cities, as many as one in four students are missing that much school.  Chronic absenteeism is a red alert that students are headed for academic trouble and eventually for dropping out of high school.  Research shows that chronically absent students are less likely to succeed academically, and are more likely to be suspended and eventually dropout.  Poor attendance isn’t just a problem in high school. It can start as early as pre-kindergarten. Chronic Absence A Hidden National Crisis

7. Starting in PreK, More Years of Chronic Absence = Need for Intensive Reading Support By 2 nd Grade * Indicates that scores are significantly different from scores of students who are never chronically absent, at p<.05 level; **p<.01; ***p<.001 Some risk At risk 7

8. Multiple Years of Elementary Chronic Absence = Worse Middle School Outcomes Oakland Unified School District SY 2006-2012, Analysis By Attendance Works Chronic absence in 1 st grade is also associated with: Lower 6 th grade test scores Higher levels of suspension Years of Chronic Absence in Grades 1-5 Increase in probability of 6 th grade chronic absence Each year of chronic absence in elementary school is associated with a substantially higher probability of chronic absence in 6 th grade 5.9x 7.8x 18.0x 8

9. Attendance Is Even More Important For Graduation for Students In Poverty Presentation to: The Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement Gap November 7, 2013, CT State Dept of Education. 9

10. 10 What Does It Take To Reduce Chronic Absence?

11. Find Out Why Students Are Chronically Absent Myths Absences are only a problem if they are unexcused Sporadic versus consecutive absences aren’t a problem Attendance only matters in the older grades Barriers Lack of access to health or dental care Poor transportation No safe path to school Aversion Child struggling academically Lack of engaging instruction Poor school climate and ineffective school discipline Parents had negative school experience Chronic disease 11

12. Site-Level Strategies for Building a Culture of Attendance & Identifying Barriers 12

13. Students & Families Schools Actionable Data Positive Messaging Capacity Building Shared Accountability Is accurate, accessible, and regularly reported Expands ability to interpret data and work together to adopt best practices Conveys why building a habit of attendance is important and what chronic absence is Ensures monitoring & incentives to address chronic absence Community District Ingredients for System-wide Success & Sustainability Strategic partnerships between district and community partners address specific attendance barriers and mobilize support for all ingredients 13

14. 14 What can United Ways Do?

15. Engage parents, families, and community partners in this issue Partner with community stakeholders in calling for chronic absence data Advocate for resources to address barriers to attendance Help grantees integrate attendance into their work Ensure there is an Attendance Campaign in place in your community What can you do to respond to chronic absence? 15

16. Community Schools Education Initiative United Way of the Bay Area Ed Center, VP of Education 16

18. KEY PROGRAMMATIC COMPONENTS Expanded Learning Opportunities Parent Engagement & Involvement Adult Education Medical, Dental, Mental Health and Social Services Early Childhood Community and Economic Development

19. DATA IS EVERYTHING! You cannot run an effective community school without collecting the right data and making data informed decisions. Who are the most vulnerable children? Are they taking up the services and supports we offer? Are these supports making an impact? http://www.uwba.org/files/galleries/United_Way-Community-Schools- Report.pdf http://www.uwba.org/files/galleries/United_Way-Community-Schools- Report.pdf

20. Sample Elementary School Chronic / Severe Absent

21. 21 Resources www.attendanceworks.org

22. Attendance Works Resources 22 Our website has access to tools for monitoring, understanding and addressing chronic absence, starting in the early grades. You will find tools for implementing strategies at the school, district and state level. Make Every Day Count – Messaging Count Us In – Attendance Awareness Month Calculating Chronic Absence Bringing Attendance Home – Parent Engagement Parent Fliers Strategies and Tips for different groups such as after-school providers and health care workers Link to the web: http://www.attendancew orks.org/tools/

23. Questions? Sue Fothergill, Senior Policy Associate, Attendance Works, Fothergill.sue@gmail.com Ed Center, Vice President, Education, United Way of the Bay Area, ecenter@uwba.org If you have questions or feedback about What’s Happening? Wednesday, please contact: Maggie Nicholas, 703-836-7100 x 548, maggie.nicholas@uww.unitedway.org Fothergill.sue@gmail.com ecenter@uwba.orgmaggie.nicholas@uww.unitedway.org

24. Take Action: Attendance Awareness Advocacy Campaign United Way & National Women’s Leadership Council are hosting a social media advocacy campaign for Attendance Awareness Month Join us for: Attendance Awareness Webinar – July 23 at 1pm ET Social Media Advocacy 101 Webinar – August (Date TBD) Save the Date: Attendance Awareness Month Social Media Campaign – September 18 For more information, contact Lindsay.Torrico@unitedway.org or Krissi.Jimroglou@unitedway.orgLindsay.Torrico@unitedway.org Krissi.Jimroglou@unitedway.org 24

25. Thank you! We will be taking a summer vacation in August but we want your feedback! Please stay tuned for a survey so we can tailor upcoming webinars to fit your needs. What’s Happening? Wednesday will return September 3rd!