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. Read full research report
Feb 05
School bus as an intervention for chronic absenteeism? Yes and it could save money in the long run too
“The bus currently isn’t being used as an intervention for chronic absenteeism, and maybe it should be. We could optimize these city bus routes to be as effective as possible,” he said. “It seems like an easy place to cut and save money, but perhaps if you could design these routes in ways to get kids to school and reduce student absenteeism, maybe [the transportation costs] would even out.” Read full article in Education Week by Sarah Sparks
Feb 04
Student attendance is impacted by trauma. Chronic absenteeism can be decreased by educators who are trauma informed
ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) have made their way into the mainstream over the past couple of years, even showing up in a segment that Oprah did for 60 Minutes. And because ACEs have a profound effect on children, the concept has been taken up in the world of education. Approaching education with an understanding of the physiological, social, emotional, and academic impacts of trauma and adversity on our students is driving changes in our systems. Read full article
Jan 29
Asthma increases absenteeism for younger students, the poor and those in rural communities, study says
This study identified factors significantly associated with EA that were not significant for lower absence thresholds. This may help direct school-based asthma interventions for which limited resources must target students at higher risk of chronic absenteeism. Read full article
Jan 20
What it takes to apply restorative practices in schools? Experienced teachers contribute what works
Four articles in this compilation from Larry Ferlazzo. A. Suspensions won’t improve school culture. B. What can teachers do? (shared values community, circles, intervening in behaviours, student leadership and modelling) C. Talk (affective statements), Trust (circles), Feel (mindfulness), Repair (restorative questions). D. When assessment becomes restorative (sample questions a. Tell me what was clear and/or confusing about your learning and assessment. b. Can you think of other ways to share your learning? c. Tell me what did and didn’t work with your plans and processes . d. Can you describe steps to improve your grades? How can I help?)
Jan 14
Reduce absenteeism by reducing suspensions using restorative practice, research says
“…there is substantial evidence that restorative initiatives can reduce suspensions and show promise for narrowing racial disparities in exclusionary discipline. Overall, restorative initiatives appear to be well received by students and staff, with a majority of staff perceiving benefits. Numerous studies indicate promise for improving school climate and interactions among students, although one recent study did not corroborate these findings. In addition, one study showed schools with restorative initiatives had lower achievement in some schools relative to the comparison schools. This mixed evidence on positive youth development suggests the need to scrutinize varying types of restorative models and implementation processes that schools use, discussed below.”
Jan 08
Physical health and attendance are co-related. So, how sick is too sick to go to school?
From Attendance Works
“Illness plays a significant role in early childhood absences. Help families understand when to send a child to school or keep her home and manage chronic conditions. When illness-related absences begin to add up, you can bring it to the attention of others, such as the school’s family outreach or health staff members.”
“Families often don’t understand when their child is too sick for school, and when they can safely send them in. This handout provides some clarity.”
Dec 22
Student mobility and transfers from school to school has an impact on chronic absenteeism
“While some foster students choose to miss school for a variety of social or emotional reasons, foster care advocates pinpoint their constant mobility as the significant cause behind absences. “With each move, six months of instructional time is lost,” said Margaret Olmos, director of FosterEd California, a project of the National Center for Youth Law, which researches and campaigns for policies that help children and teens in foster care. “We don’t know how often they move, but we do know the effect of moving,” Read full article
Dec 18
Reframe chronic absenteeism as a mental health issue for students with anxiety returning to school after a long absence
“Mental health professionals and educators say what used to be considered run-of-the-mill truancy could actually be something else. Some cases of chronic absenteeism are now being called “school refusal,” which is triggered by anxiety, depression, family crises and other traumatic events. It can lead to weeks or even months of missed school days.”
Dec 18
Caring Adults Build Connections with Kids
Caring adult connections to kids build a sense of belonging and social emotional learning through the increasingly stressful teen years so that no one falls through the cracks or becomes chronically absent. See article below.
“More holistically, though, social and emotional learning shouldn’t be seen as an add-on in high school, or be equated with a loss of academic rigor and instructional minutes: Self-care can actually become part of the curriculum—as some schools are recognizing. After losing a student to suicide in his third year of teaching, Roni Habib committed himself to improving the emotional health of teachers and students. Habib said that schools need to make sure that every single kid in a school knows that at least one adult in the school “really sees them” because “it’s very easy for kids to fall through the cracks,” especially as they progress through school and academics take priority.”