Attendance Probes

1. Is there a pattern to the absences? Are they always on Mondays or Fridays?
2. Do the students split their time between divorced parents? If this is the case, be sure to include both parents in discussions.
3. Is there a history of attendance problems?
4. Do the students move schools often?
5. Are the students homeless?
6. What strategies have already been implemented? Did they have a positive impact?
 

Attendance Strategies

1. Use bilingual aides to contact parents with limited English-speaking ability and send out school attendance notification letters in the language appropriate to the family.
2. Refer students with frequent absences to a counselor, administrator, or school social worker to diagnose the problem and recommend solutions to alleviate the circumstances that are contributing to the truancy.
3. Post the names of perfect attendees in a highly visible place.
4. Hold a drawing for special prizes donated by local businesses. Use perfect attendance as the eligibility requirement for the drawing.
5. Send commendation letters to students and parents for perfect attendance and improved attendance.
6. Initiate make-up classes conducted on one day of a weekend when a student is deemed a truant; use a "no-frill" room on campus and establish an after-school or weekend study program for students who fail to attend.
7. Refer students with persistent attendance problems to a Student Success Team (SST) or a School Attendance Review Team (SART), which should include teachers, administrators, counselors, and a school psychologist. Be sure that the parent/guardian and the student both attend the SST or SART meeting.
8. Develop an "Adoptee Program" in which teacher volunteers make weekly informal contacts with high-risk students.
9. Establish homeroom periods in secondary schools, with students remaining with the same homeroom teacher all four years; make homeroom teachers responsible for monitoring their students' attendance records and discussing truancy with parents/guardians.
10. Focus on the specific school attendance barriers faced by foster youth, homeless youth, and youth with mental health challenges.
11. Address the problem of chronic absences which appear excessive, even when the absences have been excused by a parent or guardian.
 

Resource:  These strategies came from http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ai/cw/attendstrategy.asp.

Other Attendance Strategies

1. Have students meet with the Guidance Counselor, Pupil Personnel Worker, or Attendance Specialist to:

• discuss reasons for absences
• develop a contract with incentives

2. Conference with the parents:

• on importance of school attendance
• discuss why students are absence
• try to assist with solutions
• develop or share a contract for improvement