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.

Endeavour Primary Learning Center's Attendance Plan has been created to address: 
(1) students who are routinely absent from school (excused or unexcused)
(2) students who are routinely tardy to school
(3) students who are routinely sign-out early by a parent/guardian

The plan will target interventions that will improve student attendance.   The school has a full-time SPARKS SSW and the BTIP Coordinator that meets with parents to provide a detail overview of the attendance policies.  Many parents do not have an awareness of School Board Policy 5.5 and the permissable reasons for an excused absence. Student absentism results in the loss of critical instructional time each day. Our largest number of absences occur in Kinderagrten often due to the fact that compulsory attendance  begins at the age of 6 years old.  

The SMART goal is to increase the number of students in the satisfacory range and decrase the number of the students in the severe chornic range.  We will continue to decrease the number of severe chronic absences for 2018-19 school year.  During the 2017-18 school th enumber of severe chronic absences decreased from ????? will results in a decrease from ?? students to ?? students in Kindergarten-3rd grade. 

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

EPLC parents will be provided with a parent-student handbook in the first day student packet that contains the steps in which parents are requested to follow in reference to a student's absence.  In addition, the school's website also provide information about the importance of school attendance arriving on-time, and early sign-outs. Teachers will accurately reecord all absences in Pinnacle on a daily basis.  Daily tardies, excused absneces and early sign-outs will be entered by the IMT and the General Clerk. 
Students who demonstrate a pattern of non-attendance are noted by the classroom teacher and parents are contacted to discuss the pattern of absences and the impact of the student's progress at school. Students who demonstrate absences and  tardies are monitored by the classroom teacher and parents are contacted to discuss the pattern of absences and the impact of the student's progress at school.  If the teacher is unable to contact the parent a social worker referral is generated to make a home-visit.  
Additional materials and items have been provided by the district including student and parent pledge cards, outdoor hanging banners, lanyards, posters, and bracelets are being distributed to affected stakeholders. 

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

Chronic absenteeism is defined as 10% of the school days in a year for excused or unexcused reasons which equals 18 days a school year of 2 days a month. The SSW Coordinator will review the weekly optispool report to identify students exhibiting chronic absenteeism. The BTIP Coordinator has been provided (1) day a week to meet specifically with parents to review the state laws and district policies.  A mnadatory parent conference will be required to take place at the school.  Information is also shared in reference to the parent's responsibility and the school's responsibility. Parent conference are entered into TERMS for documentation.  The school social worker assess reasons a student is absent, focusing on school and family-related issues.
Social Worker referral will be generated to verify current address as this at times is a factor impeding school attendnace if a student is discovered to be living outside the school's boundary. The Principal generates an attendance contract requesting all future absences to be appropriate documented of the approved district physician verification form. The SSW will meet with the parent to review the contract and obtain a signature for the parent after reviewing the document.  A copy of the contract will be provided to the parent. The student's attendance will continue to be monitored for improvement.

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

Severe chronic absenteeism is defined as 20% of the school days in a year for excused or unexcused absences. The SSW will review the weekly optispool report to identify students exhibiting severe chronic absenteeism. The BTIP Coordinator has been provided (1) day a week to meet specifically with parents to review the state laws and district policies.  Information is also shared in reference to the parent's responsibility and the school's responsibility. Parent conference are entered into TERMS for documentation.Students who demonstrate a pattern of non-attendance are noted by the classroom teacher and parents are contacted to discuss the pattern of absences and the impact of the student's progress at school. Students are also reviewed in RTI meetings and a the SSW worker will contact the parent to inform them that the student absences have not improved.   Home visits are conduced and documented by the school's Social Worker. 
Parent would be advised the resources that have been provided have not improved the students attendance.  The parent would also be advised that they maybe referred to the district Student Services and the State Attorney's Office for a formal meeting on the severe chronic absenteeism.  The meeting is mandatory for the parent and school designee to attend to to discuss next steps of either monitoring or case filing.