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. Because regular attendance is critical to students' success in school, our goal is to decrease by 5% the number of tardies & absences during the 2018-2019 school year as measured by comparing the percentage of tardies & absences in September 2018 and May 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

In order to maintain the daily absent rate to a less than 10% daily absent rate, our school will monitor and measure the students that are chronically absent, tardy, signing out early, and skipping classes. To attain this goal administration, teachers, and school faculty will all be responsible for maintaining accurate records through Pinnacle and will make parent contact and have student conferences regarding all issues previously stated. This goal is achievable, results-focused, and sensitive to time because all members involved will check on attendance issues daily, make parent contacts daily, follow up with the discipline matrix system daily, and handle situations immediately as they arise. The incorporation of immediate action into the process of absenteeism will result in an immediate change of the negative issues regarding absenteeism. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that students, parents, teachers, and administration are all aware of consistent tardies, absences, and student sign-outs and the requirements to guarantee that the various situations are being handled in a timely and responsible fashion. Through this school attendance will improve resulting in grades improving as well. Additional strategies include emphasizing the important of attendance during grade-level assemblies, recognizing students who maintain perfect attendance, promoting attendance through the school's Twitter account, emphazing the importance of taking accurante attendance to both teachers and substitute teachers, and ensuring teachers know when to make parent contact.

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

The strategies to be implemented for pattern of non-attendance are as follows:
The key components stated for unexcused absences, excessive excused absences, tardies, and excessive early sign-outs will all be combined for various situations in regards to the pattern of non-attendance. It will be up to attendance, administration, teachers and the data processor to generate reports and notify administration regarding attendance issues. 

The strategies to be implemented for unexcused absenses will be as follows:
When a student is unexcused from school a phone call will be made home for each absence. After 5 unexcused absences teachers will make a phone call to the parent and students will be reported to administration/guidance for a "Pattern of Non-Attendance" to intervene with the parent and student regarding the unexcused absences. This will make sure all parties are aware of the situation and a plan for that student can be arranged for the future including a contract that states the child will be in school. 

The strategies to be implemented for excessive excused absences are as follows:
If the student is aware they are going to be absent ahead of time (i.e. a family trip, surgery, etc,) the student and parent will fill out a consent form acknowledging the excused absences and receive work from all teachers in advance. For students that have excessive excused absences and prior arrangements/notice was not made, the student and parent will be contacted after 5 absences have been reached, a contract will be presented that states the child will be in school. 

The strategies to be implemented for excessive tardiness are as follows:
Students that are chronically tardy will be tracked via Pinnacle by their teachers. After 3 tardies a phone call will be made to the parent. After 5 tardies per teacher a detention will be issued. Beyond 5 tardies, a referral will be written to administration. Administration will make parent contact, issue the student an appropriate citation per the discipline matrix system, and a student contract will be issued to make the student take more ownership of their tardies and future of their education. 

The strategies to be implemented for excessive tardiness are as follows:
Students that are chronically signed out early will be tracked via Pinnacle through the attendance office. The students that are signed out more than 5 times early in a month will be notified through administration. Parent contact and student contact will be made through a conference regarding the effect it has on the student's education. A contract will be presented and signed regarding the attendance issues. 

Additional strategies include analyzing data to look for underlying causes of absences, utilizing guidance, social work staff, and family counselors to address underlying needs, setting attendance goals, and removing barriers to attendance.

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

The strategies to be implemented for chronic absenteeism are as follows:
Students that have chronic absenteeism will be considered truant. The student and their parent will be contacted, a contract will be signed acknowledging the student will attend school, and a meeting with the school social worker will be put into effect. The prior interventions from teachers and administration will have already been inacted and consequences will be put into effect if the chronic absenteeism continues.