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.

1. The percentage of students with Satisfactory Attendance in the first semester of school will increase from 61.45% to 65% in the first semester of 2018-2019.
2. The percentage of students with Satisfactory Attendance in the second semester of school will increase from 51.57% to 60% in the second semester of 2018-2019.
3. The number of kindergarten students with chronic or severe chronic absenteeism will decrease from 14 students to 10 students in the first semester of 2018-2019.
4. The number of kindergarten students with chronic or severe chronic absenteeism will decrease from 18 students to 14 students in the second semester of 2018-2019.
5. The number of first-grade students with chronic or severe chronic absenteeism will decrease from 17 students to 13 students in the first semester of 2018-2019.
6. The number of first-grade students with chronic or severe chronic absenteeism will decrease from 16 students to 12 students in the second semester of 2018-2019.

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

• Monitor Data: Faculty and staff will collaborate to create a school team that reviews attendance to analyze trends and determine students that fall into tiers 2 or 3 of necessary support. Teachers monitor students' attendance daily in Pinnacle. When students reach two absences in one quarter, teachers will reach out to parents by phone to inform them on the importance of students' attendance, as well as how to report an absence using the Attendance Line (also listed on the school website). During SAC meetings, data will be analyzed to identify alterable barriers to attendance.
• Engage Students and Families: Teachers foster a positive environment in their classrooms, as well as in the hallways, to encourage students to want to be present in school each day. Faculty and staff greet students and families around the school and in the hallways, as well as reinforce a positive welcoming experience in the front office. There are also visuals in the front of the school and the office, such as bulletin boards, to promote daily attendance that is changed throughout the year. 
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance: Monthly attendance raffles are held to celebrate students with perfect attendance, to create a friendly competition and recognize good attendance. Students with good attendance are also celebrated at assemblies and awarded with attendance certificates.
• Provide Personalized Outreach: Each day that a student is absent, teachers call home to the student's family. Attendance is included in report cards, and any concerns are reported in interims as well. Every year, a transition meeting is held to welcome new kindergarteners and their families, to provide an opportunity for families to meet teachers and receive information about the upcoming school year. In addition, each year we host a "Meet and Greet" for grades K-5 to come to school and meet teachers prior to the first day of school.
• Remove Barriers: Faculty and Staff works to invite parents and community members to help address attendance barriers. Some of the strategies implemented are the free breakfast program, health interventions such as opportunities for students to get a free dental sealant and/or a flu shot. Also, we host an annual Harvest Drive to collect food for families in need. Further, we have adopted the CHAMPs classroom management initiative, which promotes positive behavior reinforcement and corrective consequences, to create a more welcoming and positive environment. 

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

• Monitor: Teachers review students' attendance weekly, to maintain awareness of students that are chronically absent or at risk of chronic absence. If there are patterns or trends in student absences, teachers identify possible underlying causes for the continued absences. If necessary, based on attendance data, teachers will determine students that need an appropriate Tier 3 response and move forward in the tiered attendance process. 
• Engage Students and Families: Teachers, the school nurse, or the guidance counselor will call or send a letter to inform the families of attendance concerns and offer help if necessary. Teachers may also suggest a conference, in which they can provide parents with easy-to-understand information about how to reach out to social services and/or community resources to address alterable barriers related to attendance. In turn, this will help parents avoid legal consequences of chronic absenteeism. Faculty and staff will work with the guidance counselor and social worker to provid resources for family needs such as clothing assistance and literacy programs.
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance: Faculty will establish individual attendance goals and recognize students when they meet these goals. Teachers can recognize an improvement in attendance weekly, engage students in tracking their own daily attendance, and develop strategies that interest and motivate students to come to school.
• Provide Personalized Outreach: At-risk students will be paired with an attendance buddy -- someone who exhibits satisfactory attendance and has a good rapport with the student. Faculty and staff will also push to recruit these students for various engaging after-school activities or in-school programs that require daily check-ins. Further, teachers may schedule a parent/school staff conference with administrators and/or the guidance counselor, to work with students and families to develop strategies for improved attendance. 
• Remove Barriers: Faculty and staff will work together to identify alterable barriers to attendance, such as health, transportation, or housing issues. If necessary, public agencies and/or community partners will be involved to address these barriers. The school nurse will follow up with any medical-related absences. Families will be provided with information about community resources and school-based resources that can foster good attendance, and this information will be readily available in the front office. 

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

• Monitor: Students that have a history of missing 20% or more of school (or are at risk of chronic absenteeism due to other major challenges such as homelessness) are identified. Once these students are identified in each classroom, teachers will continue to review attendance daily and ensure that those Tier 3 students are in school. If these students are absent, teachers/guidance counselor/social worker will follow up on each absence for any Tier 3 student.
• Engage Students and Families: If a student has been determined as chronically absent, the teacher/guidance counselor/social worker will determine if an outside agency needs to be involved and coordinate services if necessary. Data will be shared with the agency to chronic absence is the indicator to which they are responding. Faculty and staff will continue to work with families to help them avoid legal consequences if possible. If absolutely necessary, the school will use the leverage of the courts to involve families in necessary services and interventions.  
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance: Teachers and other relvant staff will incorporate various positive reinforcements for supporting students' improved attendance, such as classroom-based incentives and praise. 
• Provide Personalized Outreach: Teachers will ensure continuous positive and regular contact with the families of chronically absent students, and they will follow through on commitments of support to the families. When the student misses school, assigned personnel such as the classroom teacher or guidance counselor will follow up with contact after any absence. 
• Remove Barriers: Faculty and staff will work with families to implement the agreed-up family intervention plan and monitor for progress. If students have chronic physical and/or mental health issues, the school will ensure that they are connected with medical providers.