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.

By the end of the 2018 - 2019 school year, we will decrease Severe Chronic Absenteeism by 5% at grade levels 6 - 12.

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

A. Monitor Data
• Monitoring attendance-taking procedures will take place weekly by the Attendance Clerk and as requested by administration.
• Each quarter, School Counselors will monitor BASIS and Data Warehouse to set goals for students in school-wide recognitions. This monitoring works as a back-up to assist in identifying students that may need Tier 2 interventions.
• Each month, the administrative team will request from the IMT to provide a report for current year attendance categories to monitor improvement and steer the direction of attendance initiatives.

B. Engage Students and Families
• School staff will be encouraged to reach out to parents by phone, email, school newsletter and website to remind parents about the importance of attendance in the early grades.
• Principal will provide monthly updates via ParentLink. 
• Front office staff will meet on an ongoing basis to discuss customer service responsibilities and adapt procedures for ensuring a welcoming environment when visitors enter the front office (students, parents, guests, District staff).
• The Attendance Phone Line will be checked and cleared daily by the attendance clerk.

C. Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
• All administrators will ensure that students have opportunities to participate in District-wide Attendance recognition events (certificates, Miami Heat games, Florida Panthers, Miami Marlins, etc.)
• School-based attendance recognition events will occur throughout the school year. These will include recognizing students over the daily announcements, certificates and honor roll recognition.

D. Provide Personalized Outreach
• School staff will host a transition meeting for students moving from feeder schools. This will include but limited to, Panther Preview Orientation, Open House and Family Night Events. The families will meet the team of teachers, tour the school, and learn about the importance of regular attendance for their child’s academic success through the end of their senior year.
• Attendance will be included on all student report cards.
• Integrate information about chronic absence into parent programs and communications throughout the school year.

E. Remove Barriers
• This school provides free breakfast for all students, every school day.
• 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

A. Monitor Data
• Each Monday, the leadership team will review the non-attendance report from Opti-Spool during leadership meetings. Students will be identified, and teachers will be notified which of their students might be at-risk.
• Pinnacle and BASIS will be used to monitor Chronic Absences.
• School Counselors, will monitor attendance with the leadership team to help identify students that may have a need for more wrap-around services.

B. Engage Students and Families
• School Counselors and Administrators, 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 Counselor or School Social Worker to develop a personalized “Student Success Plan for Attendance” 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.Teachers will initiate an RTi Referral and provide strategies for improving attendance. 
•Social workers and school counselors 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
•We will set attainable attendance goals to help improve attendance for at-risk or chronically absent students.
• Daily announcements will be use to recognize these students routinely for good and improved attendance. 

D. Provide Personalized Outreach
• Adults and responsible students volunteer to partner with at-risk students to form relationships that encourage better attendance.
• Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) in our school will include Family Night Events and SEL Clinics to show support and expression of care when we interact with others.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences with support staff will be scheduled to discuss absences, barriers and challenges.

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).
• Support staff will monitor the non-attendance reports to identify students that are missing too many school days.
• The Attendance Data will be used to identify students and families that may be in need of additional support and services. 

B. Engage Students and Families
• Social Worker or Community Liaison will refer students to appropriate service agencies (social services, human resources, counseling, housing, the HEART team for homeless education, or health services). When appropriate, a truancy petition.
•  Social Worker will 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.
• Work with students and parents that have been flagged by the Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to resolve suspended licenses with a plan to meet attendance goals and restore driver’s license or permit.
• Parental involvement is important prior to initiating severe consequences related to truancy.

C. Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
• For the students at Tier 3, appropriate positive reinforcements will be used to support continued improved attendance. This plan will be developed with the parents, School Counselor, and School Social Worker. Plans and goals will be shared with the child’s teachers.
• Incentives will be utilized to help students and parents improve attendance.

D. Provide Personalized Outreach
• Continued positive and regular contact with the family.
• Check-in 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 and monitor a plan that is agreed upon by all stakeholders. 
• Ensure that students with chronic physical and mental health issues are referred to medical providers.
• Cases of suspected abuse, neglect or endangerment, will be referred to the appropriate agencies.