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.

All Palmview students are required to attend school every day of the 180-day school year or the equivalent on an hourly basis pursuant to the State Board of Education. Students not attending school daily will result in poor academic performance. When a student misses one instructional day or more, he or she will be at a disadvantage for the rest of week. Based on last year's data, we need to improve chronic absenteeism and excessive absences in every grade level (see Data Warehouse).
 

In 2018 - 2019 school year, Palmview Elementary School will improve student attendance by:

• Decreasing the number of students arriving late for class by 20%.
• Decreasing the number of chronic absenteeism (10 or more days) by 1%.
• Decreasing the number of excessive absences (21 days or more) by 1%.
• Increasing parental awareness about the importance of school attendance, arriving on-time, and the resources/support available by 100%.
• Rewarding students who achieve perfect attendance each quarter during award assembly by 100%.

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 are aimed at 100% of students, parents, and community stakeholders. Tier 1 strategies are generally low-cost with most results.

• Administration and support staff will review attendance data for trends for all students and identify how many and which students fall into the different tiers of needed support.
• Attendance Line (phone number) easily accessible on the school website
• Identify the staff member utilized as the Attendance Manager.
• During grade-level assemblies, spotlight attendance information for the quarter and reward students for perfect attendance.
• Provide students with information about the importance of being in class every day (connected to academic readiness and future success).
• Ensure that all teachers are trained to take attendance accurately during pre-planning week. Encourage all to take attendance in a timely and accurate manner. (Teacher Attendance Codes: P, PN, AU, TU).
• When teachers make phone calls home, include information about attendance (ex. "thank you for getting her to school on time every day"; "she was absent two days last week and we missed her"; "he is on track for perfect attendance this month.")
• All students and families are greeted at the door each morning by faculty and staff members.
• After-school clubs, after-school tutoring, and morning tutoring programs are offerered to all students in grade levels 1st - 5th. 
• Reward students who achieve perfect attendance each quarter during award assemblies.

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 may require more school staff to consider each case. Teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and school social workers may be involved in Collaborative Problem-Solving Teams to discuss attendance and the causes for those students. Teams can determine how to help a student or family.

Address strategies and interventions that will be used for students appearing on the "Pattern of Non-Attendance" Report available each week.

• Administration and support staff will monitor data for students who are chronically absent or at risk of chronic absence and look for qualitative data to assess underlying causes for continued absences.
• Phone calls and letters are sent out to alert families of attendance concerns and to explore what help may be needed.
• Engage students and parents through positive communication that supports a good relationship between the school and family.
• Schedule Parent/School Staff conference to discuss absences.
• Provide parents with family-friendly, easy-to-understand information and/or assitance in reaching out to social services or community resources that may be helpul in addressingbarriers identified.
• Help parents understand and avoid legal consequences of extreme chronic absence.
• Utilize the school community liaison to provide for family needs (food, clothing academic programs).
• Set attendance goals with the student and family.
• Identify academic need of the student and develop a plan to provide appropriate tutoring and coaching services.
• Provide personalized Early Outreach (find a volunteer teacher to assign as an attendance buddy, schedule conference to discuss absence, arrange transportation)
• Remove Barriers to Attendance: Involve public agencies and community partners, involve the school nurse to follow-up on medical related absences, connect families with school-based resources.

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

Tier 3 - Intensive Support for students with severe absenteeism (20% or more missed days) and chronic absenteeism (10% or more missed days). The highest level of need and support.

• Administration and support staff will review attendance daily and ensure that each student identified are in school in day.
• Monitor Data: Identify students that have a history of missing 20% or more of school and are at-risk due to other challenges.
• Engage Students and Parents: Determine if the student should have an agency involved (CINS/FINS or BTIP).
• Refer students and families to appropriate agencies.
• Ensure students are connected with positive supports (social worker, mentor, peers)
• Follow through on commitments of support to the family. Provide positive and regular contact.
• Develop individualized attendance plan and incorporate positive reinforcements.
• Monitor the progress of the individualized attendance plan periodically.