8.Student Attendance Early Indicators: a podcast for leaders

8 of 9 in a series on

School Leadership: Listening to understand not respond

to parents in difficult circumstances

to colleagues on your staff

to students

to your supervisor/principal/superintendent

Here’s an another example of what we developed called Student Attendance Early Indicators (SAE Indicators) which is a relational approach to early identification of students at risk of chronic absenteeism using researched indicators.

1. Why are so many students missing so much school? (Attendance Works)
   1. Barriers are factors that impede a student from getting to school. While some barriers affect families in low-income communities more, others such as transportation cut across all income levels.
      Negative School Experiences include a range of challenges, such as bullying or unfair disciplinary practices, that cause a student or a student’s family to avoid school.
      Lack of Engagement is the result of factors such as the absence of a relationship with at least one caring adult, or culturally relevant and engaging instruction, which results in a student feeling little or no connection to school.
      Misconceptions are common ideas about attendance that families or students believe to be true but are not. For example, too often missing class is only seen as a problem if absences are unexcused.
2. Restorative Practices as the social science of human dignity based on the principles of BELONGING, VOICE, AGENCY
3. Belonging addresses our need for connection. Voice refers to the need to know that our personal story matters, and that we have a safe space to share our stories with others. Agency is the ability to act on our ideas.

Related Readings

1. Present, Engaged and supported in the 2020-21 school year Hedy Chang ( Attendance works) https://edpolicyinca.org/newsroom/tiered-approach-ensuring-students-are-present-engaged-and-supported-2020-21-school-year
2. TDSB research Redefining Risk: Human Rights and Elementary School Factors Predicting Post-Secondary Access. Brown et al
   • Abstract: While there is a widespread consensus that students’ pathways towards postsecondary education are influenced early in life, there is little research on the elementary school factors that shape them. Identifying educational ‘risk factors’ directs attention to barriers that may warrant scrutiny or action under human rights legislation. New findings from a unique, longitudinal data set collected and developed by the Toronto District School Board highlights key factors, established in elementary school, as to how many students do not enter into post-secondary studies in Ontario. The majority of students suspended at any time, students in self-contained special education programs, and/or students who missed more than 10% of classes in grade 4 do not go on to PSE. Redefining Risk 2 These organizational factors are more predictive of students’ acceptance to PSE than individualized measures of preschool readiness, academic achievement in grade 3, race or parental education. These structural ‘risks’ are strongly correlated with of race and disability. In light of research that identifies promising, evidence-based practices available to reduce these risks, breaking down these barriers should be a priority from the perspective of improving PSE access and overcoming what may well amount to systemic discrimination.
3. Our podcast with the authors of the TDSB study. 3 Key predictors of secondary completion apparent in elementary data, Canadian Study Shows and Canadian Study shows substantial increase in extreme absenteeism during pandemic
4. Key Research: Why attendance matters for Achievement and how interventions can help
   https://awareness.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/Research2016.pdf