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.

Goal 1: In 2017/18, the grade level with the most students with chronic absence was the 12^th grade with 179 total students (133 chronic absence and 46 severe chronic absence). In 12^th grade, our goal is to reduce the number of students with chronic absenteeism by 18 students (a 10% reduction) for the 2018/19 school year.
Goal 2: Overall chronic absence in 2017/18 was 19.68% (14.9% chronic, 4.78% sever chronic). Our goal is to reduce overall chronic absence by 5% in all grades levels (about 22 students).
Goal 3: In 2017/18, 9^th grade had it highest level of students with satisfactory attendance with 63.14% of students attending 95% or more school days. The goal for satisfactory attendance is to increase the percentages of students attending 95% or more in every grade level by the end of the 2018/19 to 20% of students.

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
  • Administration will ensure that all teachers have completed the Brainshark training for taking classroom attendance at the high school level (9-12). Administration will maintain a record of teachers that have completed the training.
  • During grade-level assemblies, held at the beginning of the year, administration and guidance will go over important attendance information with the students. Making sure to emphasize that their attendance is important to ensure academic readiness and future success.
  • Monitoring attendance-taking procedures will take place weekly by the grade level secretary and as requested by administration.
  • Twice each quarter, aspiring leaders 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.
  • At the beginning of each month, the administrative team and aspiring leaders will request from the IMT to provide a report for current year attendance categories to monitor improvement and steer the direction of attendance initiatives. 
• Engage Students and Families
  • School staff will be encouraged to reach out to parents by phone or email to remind parents about the importance of attendance.
  • Parents are notified of all absences via Parent Link and SAC and SAF meetings regarding Average Daily Attendance and the Chronic Absenteeism categories, celebrating the students that are attending 95% or more.
  • Front office staff will meet each Professional Study Day (first Thursday of each month) to discuss customer service responsibilities and adapt procedures for ensuring a welcoming environment when visitors enter the front office.
  • Communication via, but not limited to, the school website, school marquee and Remind messages will be positive and supportive.
  • The Attendance Phone Line will be checked and cleared daily by the attendance clerk.
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
  • The administrator responsible for attendance 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 quarterly certificates and school-based attendance recognition and may be combined with honor roll assemblies
•  Provide Personalized Outreach
  • School staff will host a transition meeting for students moving from feeder middle schools into 9th grade. Families will, 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. 
  • Teacher will contact parents to discuss chronic absence and absence letter will generated and mailed home. 
• Remove Barriers 
  • This school provides free breakfast for all students, every school day. 
  • The guidance department will host “It Takes a Village,” a parent night in January 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

• Monitor Data
  • The leadership team will meet twice a month to review the non-attendance report from Opti-Spool during leadership meetings and on Professional Study Days (PSD). Students will be identified, and teachers will notified which of their students are at-risk.
  • Using BASIS, the leadership team will meet twice a week to identify students that have enough absences to be considered “chronically absent”.
  • Teachers will monitor attendance using Pinnacle and BASIS and consult with support staff for help in redirecting absenteeism behavior.
  • School Counselors, will monitor attendance with the leadership team to help identify students that may have a need for more wrap-around services.
•  Engage Students and Families
  • School Counselors and members of the leadership team 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 Counselors and or Social Worker to develop a plan to ensure that the child doesn’t miss too many days of school.
  • In getting to know the families of the children who have been absent, School Counselors and the leadership team with any needed services that can help aid in getting their child to school to maximize student academic performance.
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
  • The School Counselors and the leadership team will work with families to set attainable attendance goals to help improve attendance for at-risk or chronically absent students.
  • We will create an environment of positive reinforcement, recognizing these students routinely for good and improved attendance.
• Provide Personalized Outreach
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences with support staff will be scheduled to discuss absences and challenges to identify the barriers we may be able to assist with.
  • Follow-up with all parents of habitual absentees, taking stock in their children and their academic success.
• Remove Barriers
  • Connect families with the School Social Worker to provide insight as the role of a School Social Worker, establish a relationship, and provide clinical support and services.
  • Involve the school nurse when necessary to follow-up on medically related absences and train staff to recognize signs of illness.
  • Involve public agencies, community partners, and resources as needed to address barriers identified through parent conferences, communications with family, or sources.

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 (15 or more unexcused absences within 90 days)
  • Leadership team will monitor the non-attendance report from BASIS, DWH, and OptiSpool every other week to identify students that are missing more than 20% of school year.
  • The Response to Intervention and Collaborative Problem-Solving Team uses data to help uncover possible issues students exhibiting chronic absenteeism may have and either devise a plan to remove the barrier or refer to a social worker.
• B. Engage Students and Families
  • Parents will be notified of all absences via parent link. If a student (under the age of 16) has 15 or more unexcused absences in a semester, students will be referred to school social worker who will initiate a referral to CINS/FINS.
  • Leadership team will share data with appropriate agencies and ensure that agencies are using chronic absence as an indicator for assisting families.
  • Leadership team will utilize best practices proven to decrease chronic absences and increase satisfactory attendance.
  • Parents will be involved when communicating with the agencies referred as a consequence to the related chronic absenteeism. 
• C. Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
  • For the students at Tier 3, appropriate positive reinforcements will be included in their “Attendance Success Plan” 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. 
  • Tangible incentives may be utilized to help students and parents improve attendance.
• D. Provide Personalized Outreach
  • Ensure continued positive and regular contact with the family.
  • Check-in on “Attendance Success Plans” and communicate with parents at regular intervals. If the plan is not referenced regularly with positive reinforcement, the plan is not being supported. 
  • 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.
• 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.