Addressing Chronic Absenteeism - News - Communities In Schools of South King County

WHAT IS CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM?

Every absence, excused or unexcused, is a learning opportunity lost and can have significant impacts on a student’s success in school and life. According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, A student who misses 10% or more of their school days, which amounts to 18 or more days in a school year-or just two days a month-for any reason is considered chronically absent. Chronically absent students are more likely to fall behind in reading and math and less likely to graduate from high school. Helping the Federal Way School District address chronic absenteeism and developing good attendance habits is a top priority for Communities In Schools of Federal Way.

Chronic absenteeism is an equity issue

Chronic absenteeism is particularly prevalent among students who are low-income, students of color, students with disabilities, students who are highly mobile (i.e. move around a lot), and juvenile justice-involved youth.

Chronic absenteeism is a symptom

Absences are key indicators that a student is facing challenges. These challenges may be related to transportation, health issues, lack of stable housing, mental health or drug abuse, lack of parent support or supervision as well as in school issues such as bullying, academic challenges, lack of perceived relevance or not feeling connected or valued. These are all challenges that Communities In Schools of Federal Way works to address to help improve attendance rates both at the school-wide and individuals student level.

Chronic absenteeism is an indicator

Research shows that students at risk of dropping out give warning signs years in advance and these signs can provide guidance for selecting interventions to keep students on track to graduate. Dropping out of school is not a sudden decision but a process of disengagement over several years. Chronic Absenteeism is an Early Warning Indicator, and research shows that the earlier a student triggers this indicator the more likely they are to drop out of school.

Chronic absenteeism in Federal Way

In 2016, an analysis of Federal Data revealed that Washington State has the second worst chronic absenteeism rate in the nation. In 2015, 16% of Washington State students missed 18 or more days of school. In comparison, the Federal Way School District is well above the state average, with 20% of students (4,600 total students) being chronically absent, putting us in the bottom 20% of Washington State school districts.

COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS IN ACTION

According to Count Me In, Washington State’s School Attendance Initiative, Students who are at risk to be chronically absent benefit from supports and services best provided by third-party providers or agencies, like Communities In Schools, in collaboration with their local school or school district.

Researchers have found that the effects of absenteeism are reversible with the help of mentors, incentive programs, connecting local resources to schools, and awareness campaigns. Additionally, Attendance Works, has identified five key strategies for reducing chronic absenteeism at the school level: 1) Recognize good and improved attendance, 2) Engage students and parents, 3) Provide personalized outreach, 4) Monitor attendance data, and 5) Develop programmatic response to barriers. All of our School Outreach Coordinators help broker, coordinate or provide one or more of these strategies at each of their schools.

Here are just a few examples of how our School Outreach Coordinators are partnering with their schools to improve school attendance:

Totem Middle School: Anthony Cryer, at Totem Middle School, has helped create and implement a comprehensive school-wide attendance improvement plan which utilizes all five research-based strategies for reducing chronic absenteeism. After several months of the program Totem’s overall school daily attendance rate increased from 92% to 95%.

The improvement plan includes an incentive program to recognize good attendance. Any student at Totem who achieves at least 95% attendance each month is entered to win prizes. The prizes are located in the school’s trophy case for students to see everyday as a reminder.

Any student who falls under 90% attendance will receive individualized support either from Anthony or a Totem staff member to help resolve any barriers to attendance those students may be facing. Anthony has recently provided personalized outreach, engaging both a student and her mom, to help improve her attendance. This student has been late or absent a total of 60 days this school year. The student’s mom leaves the house at 5 am for work, so it is up to the student to get to school on-time. Anthony, the student, and her mom came up with a detailed plan to improve her attendance. If the student gets to school on-time 30 days in a row, then she will earn a new pair of sneakers she has been desperately wanting. The student is responsible for checking in with Anthony every morning, and Anthony is happy to report that the student, for the first time this year, has gone 11 days in a row without being absent!

Federal Way High School: Our School Outreach Coordinators at Federal Way High School recognize good and improved attendance. For example, they recently surprised one of their students, with a goody bag of treats for having 100% attendance 1st semester!

Thomas Jefferson High School: Soraia Francisco has been working with this student, Irene, for a few years now. Irene struggled with attendance and grades at the beginning of this year, but with frequent scheduled check-ins with Soraia to monitor her attendance data and grades, she is back on track to graduate this June! She has A’s in all of her classes, and received this email from her teacher that she scored the highest grade on their most recent exam.

Kilo Middle School: Ariassa Wilson, at Kilo Middle School has developed an incentive program called “Team Glow Up” to recognize good and improved attendance, as well as behavior and academic work. Jae’Shanel is a 7th grade student at Kilo Middle School who is participating in “Team Glow Up,” Jae’Shanel had a rocky start to the school year, but since joining Team Glow Up, she has improved attendance, better focus in class, and better behavior. Team Glow Up has motivated Jae’Shanel to keep working hard to reach her goals.

Illahee Middle School: Pat Perkins works with Illahee’s admin team to address attendance issues. They meet weekly to discus particular students who need extra support and encouragement to attend school regularly. Pat also speaks to the entire student body during morning announcements to share the school’s current attendance statistics and provides motivation for students to work on bringing their average daily attendance rate up. They are also starting an incentive program with the goal of having 99% Monday attendance.

Sacajawea Middle School: Kimberly Foster has been working with a student who has a habit of being late to one of her classes. Kimberly made an arrangement with the student that if she could be on-time for a whole week, then Kimberly would bring her her favorite snack. The student accomplished her goal and was proud of herself for being on-time, and plans to keep up the good attendance.

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