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Our guest this week is Dr. Kelly Gallagher-McKay who was a leading researcher in a study of 700,000 Toronto area school boards which showed extreme absenteeism, students missing over 50% of school days, increased 6 fold over the pandemic last school year. Dr. Gallagher-Mckay co-authored a longitudinal study which showed 3 reliable elementary school predictors or indicators that students would not continue on to post-secondary studies: a. 10% absenteeism in even 1 year in elementary school. b. 1 suspension during elementary school. c. participating in a congregated special education services class. Student connection to school builds a sense of belonging which positively impacts attendance.
Restorative practice suggestions:
- Ask questions about absenteeism early and don’t wait for 15 days of consecutive absence to act.
- Look carefully at elementary school attendance data as a predictor of secondary school attendance and completion.
- Ask yourself “Am I denying someone the ‘opportunity to learn” by not knowing and not acting on the predictive factors in marginalized student groups?”
- Focus on data that includes total absences. Student absenteeism presents opportunities for inter-agency cooperation between schools and public health.
Learning through Covid-19 Report #1: Enrollment and Absenteeism (August 2021)Research Collaboration with Greater Toronto Area school boards in which Dr. Kelly Gallagher-Mckay was a writer.
Redefining Risk: Human rights and elementary school factors predicting post-secondary access Brown, Robert and Kelly Gallagher-Mckay and Gillian Parekh Feb. 2020.
Order Steve’s book The Restorative Principal Leading in Education with Restorative Practices
Visit CircleForum for more information about our online trainings in restorative practices
Music – Scott Holmes Music – Upbeat Party