Goals for the Attendance Plan

1. A school's response for this section should be in SMART format for improving attendance for each category reported in the data tables.
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic/Rewarding
• Timely
2. Address early grades at your school level (K & 1, 6th Grade, 9th Grade). Analyze school-wide data to determine needs at grade levels and times of year when challenges occur more often.

School attendance data are provided reporting percent of students with satisfactory attendance, at-risk attendance, chronic absenteeism, and severe chronic absenteeism. The two-year trend allows for comparison of attendance over time and an indication of how strategies implemented to improve attendance are working.

Goals: 

1. By June 2019, Broadview Elementary will decrease the average number of students with severe chronic absenteeism (5.31%) and chronic absenteeism (13.15%)  by 1% from  a total of 18.46% to 17.46%. To attain this goal, Broadview Elementary will implement the following Comprehensive Attendance Plan.

2. By June 2019, Broadview Elementary will decrease the average number of students with severe chronic absenteeism  in K from 9.73% to 7.73% and 1st 7.02% from to 5.02% grade by 2% overall during the second semester of the school year.
 

Tier 1 Strategies for Attendance

Tier 1 Strategies for Attendance - Address all five core ingredients. Tier 1 is aimed at 100% of students, parents, school staff, and community stakeholders. This is where you cast a wide net. Strategies are general to reach the largest audiences and include all employees and stakeholders.

Tiered plans will include strategies and interventions for the 5 core ingredients.

• Monitor Data
• Engage Students and Families
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
• Provide Personalized Outreach
• Remove Barriers

Tier 1 Strategies for Attendance

A. Monitor Data

• The BASIS referral system will be utilized to communicate and request Social Worker assistance to determine the reason for the absences; district policy will be reviewed and social service/other referrals will be issued as deemed appropriate to ensure regular daily attendance for all students.
• The attendance line will be checked daily and excused absences will be input by IMT. 

B. Engage Students and Families

• At the beginning of the  2018-2019  school year, parents are provided with the Broward Truancy Intervention Program (BTIP) Parent Acknowledgement which is the attendance policy. Parents are required to sign and return to the school, documenting their awareness of the criteria for an excused absence.
• The attendance policy and identified school attendance SMART goal is published in the monthly newsletter, and on the school's website.
• Teachers will also communicate the impact of attendance on student's academic achievement. This information will be communicated at the beginning of the year's Open House, SAC meetings, monthly parent nights, parent/ teacher conferences, and on interim and report cards. At the Annual Title 1 meeting, parents will be taught how to report absences. 
• A second emergency contact form will be sent home mid-year for any applicable updates such as contact information or addresses. 
• In the monthly newsletter attendance reminders are included to inform parents about the importance of bringing your child to school on time and calling in absences.

c. Recognize Good Improved  and Improved Attendance

• The Attendance Counts poster will be posted in the school's front office daily.
• Students with 100% attendance, will receive Perfect Attendance awards at quarterly awards ceremonies.
• Students with improved attendance will receive a Most Improved Attendance award certificate at quarterly award ceremonies. 

d. Provide Personalized Outreach

•  Frequent Parent Links will be disseminated, reminding parents and guardians of the school's attendance policy.
• Teachers will call parents after a student is absent 3 days. 
• Social worker referrals will be made for students starting to show a pattern of non-attendance. 

e. Remove Barriers

• The school provides free breakfast to all students prior to 7:45am. 
• The school opens it's doors and provides supervision of students at 7:15am every morning. 
• A bike rack enclosed in a lock gate is available for students that arrive by bicycle. The rack is locked after school begins and is unlocked and monitored by staff after school.
• The Community Liaison from Family and Community Engagement will host parent nights throughout the year to inform parents about services, programs, and District policies.

Tier 2 Strategies and Interventions to Improve Attendance

Tier 2 Strategies and Interventions to Improve Attendance - Address all five core ingredients. Tier 2 identifies students using early warning indicators to make connections with students and families at the onset of the school year or emergence of patterns of non-attendance. Early warning indicators include prior year chronic absenteeism, 3 or more absences in the first 4 weeks of enrollment, more than 10% of school days absent in any time period from the beginning of enrollment.

- Tier 2 represents between 10-20% of students at all schools in Broward County. This is true at individual schools and across the District.

- Chronic Absenteeism: Absent for 10% or more school days. These absences include excused, unexcused, and suspensions as days of instruction missed.

Tiered plans will include strategies and interventions for the 5 core ingredients.

• Monitor Data
• Engage Students and Families
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
• Provide Personalized Outreach
• Remove Barriers

Tier 2 Strategies and Interventions to Improve Attendance 
A. Monitor Data

• Each week, the social workers will review the non-attendance report from Opti-Spool. Students will be identified, and teachers will be notified which of their students might be at-risk.
• Weekly, using BASIS, the social workers will identify students that have enough absences to be considered chronically absent.
• Teachers will monitor attendance using Pinnacle and BASIS. After three absences teachers will call home and teachers complete social work referal form if necessary.

 B. Engage Students and Families

• Teachers and social worker will reach out by phone to speak with parents of chronically absent students to identify if any support is needed for the family.
• If needed, parents and student will work with the school social workers to develop a personalized plan to make sure the child doesn’t miss too many days and get back on track with good attendance. There is a correlation between good attendance and good academic performance.
• Staff will help identify any family needs and connect the family with services (food pantry, clothing assistance, literacy programs, transportation).

 C. Recognize Good and Improved Attendance

• Social worker will work with students and families to set attendance goals and time frames that are attainable to help improve attendance for at-risk or chronically absent students.
• Broadview Elementary will recognize these students routinely for good and improved attendance. Positive reinforcement and trusting relationships with staff improve attendance.

D. Provide Personalized Outreach

• Parents will be invited to a CPST meeting designed specifically for supporting students improve attendance and for students who are chronically tardy.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences with teacher and social worker will be scheduled to discuss absences and challenges to identify the barriers we may be able to assist with.

E. Remove Barriers

• Involve public agencies, community partners, and resources as needed to address barriers identified through parent conferences, communications with family, or other sources.
• Involve the school nurse when necessary to follow-up on medically related absences and train staff to recognize signs of illness.
• Connect families with the School Social Worker to provide insight as to the role of a School Social Worker, establish a relationship, and provide clinical support and services.

Tier 3 Interventions

Tier 3 Interventions - Address all five core ingredients. Tier 3 is the highest level of intervention and support for students that are absent 20% or more school days during the year.

- At most schools, Tier 3 interventions are utilized for about 5% (or less) of the student population.

Tiered plans will include strategies and interventions for the 5 core ingredients.

• Monitor Data
• Engage Students and Families
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
• Provide Personalized Outreach
• Remove Barriers

A. Monitor Data

• Identify students with a history of severe chronic absenteeism (missing more than 20% of a school year).
• Social worker will monitor the non-attendance report from OptiSpool and data from BASIS to identify students that are missing too many school days.
• Attendance data is one of the main metrics brought to discussion for Collaborative Problem-Solving Team (CPST) and Response-to-Intervention (RtI). Attendance data may help uncover bigger issues the student or family are experiencing.

• The school will continue  to adhere to the BTIP Process Interventions for unexcused absences, as follows

B. Engage Students and Families

• School social workers will refer students to appropriate service agencies (social services, human resources, counseling, housing, the HEART team for homeless education, or health services)
• Share data with appropriate agencies and ensure that agencies are using chronic absence as an indicator for assisting families
•  Utilize best practices from schools within the District that have been able to decrease chronic absences and increase satisfactory attendance the Broward Truancy Intervention Plan (BTIP) may initiate truancy letters to hold 5-day or 10-day meetings with the parents, principal (or designee), District representative, and State Attorney’s Office for the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

C. Recognize Good and Improved Attendance

• For the students at Tier 3, appropriate positive reinforcements will be included in their plan to support continued improved attendance. This plan will be developed with the parents and School   School Social Workers. Plans and goals will be shared with the students’s teachers.

D. Provide Personalized Outreach

• Ensure continued positive and regular contact with the family.
• Parents will be invite to a CPST meeting designed specifically for supporting students improve attendance and for students who are chronically tardy.
• A meeting with parents and an administrator will be set up in cases where other interventions have not improved attendance.
• Check-in on plans for improving attendance and communicate with parents at regular intervals.
• Consult with the School Social Worker as a resource for helping families with attendance problems.
• When the student misses school, ensure the assigned personnel is following up on each absence.

E. Remove Barriers

• Implement agreed upon family intervention plan. Monitor for progress.
• Connect students with chronic physical and mental health issues to medical providers.
• For cases of suspected abuse, neglect or endangerment, contact the appropriate agencies to report.