K.I.S.S KIDS IN SCHOOL SUCCEED

Presentation by Bridgett Arnold, Cynthia Bradley, Tristan Andres, Christine Slavens, LaRia Shea, Rita Brozka, Robyn

Franklin, Debra Andrews

Panel One:Problem

What can be done to reduce chronic absenteeism/truancy?

Definition of Truancy According to the Colorado Department of

Education the definition of truancy is: If a student is absent without an excuse by the parent/guardian or if the student leaves school or a class without permission of the teacher or administrator in charge, it will be considered to be an unexcused absence and the student shall be considered truant.

Effects of Truancy in ColoradoAccording to the National Center for School Engagement: Students recommended for truancy are the young people most likely to

drop out of school. School dropouts have significantly fewer job prospects, make lower salaries, and are more often unemployed than youth who stay in school. In 1999, just over 14 percent of workers who had dropped out of school were poverty-stricken as compared with six percent of workers who had completed high school. The following are some powerful measures of the social and financial impact of truancy and the dropouts that result:

Less educated workforce (High school drop outs on average earn $260,000 less than a high school graduate in their lifetime)

Business loss because of youth who "hang out" and/or shoplift during the day

Higher daytime crime rates (44% of violent juvenile crime occurred between 8:30 AM and 1:30 PM in SD, CA in 1996)

Cost of social services for families of children who are habitually truant Loss of federal and state education funding for schools (According to

Venture Unified School district they would receive and additional $718,000 if every student makes up one day over the course of a year).

Statistics of the Effects of Truancy

60% of students who left DPS for juvenile incarceration were chronically truant.

60% of students who were expelled from DPS were chronically truant.

20% of students who left to be home schooled were chronically truant.

16% of students who attended more than one school in a school year were chronically truant.

50% of students who drop out were chronically truant. 63% of students who were no longer in school prior to

graduation date were chronically truant.

And the survey says…

A survey of Project Citizen participants on truancy and

absenteeism.

4. DO YOU FEEL THAT POOR ATTENDANCE HAS A NEGATIVE AFFECT ON A STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE?

7. Who has the biggest responsibility of ensuring that students are not truant?

Truancy in DPSNumber and Percent of Chronic Truants in Denver Public SchoolsSchool Year Number Percent2002-2003 Not Chronic 72,179 80.5%

Chronically Truant

17,427 19.5%

2003-2004 Not Chronic Truant

71,863 80.8%

Chronically Truant

17,085 19.2%

2004-2005 Not Chronic Truant

72,293 80.7%

Chronically Truant

17,313 19.3%

Current DPS Policies If the school has received no indication that the child's parent is

aware of such absence; notification will be by telephone on the day of absence, if possible, in writing, or by some other method

Consequences for truancies, unexcused absences, and unexcused tardies that may include lower grades or loss of academic credit

Providing for development of a plan, which may be in writing, to assist the habitually truant student in remaining in school; such procedures must provide opportunities for the full participation of the parent/guardian in the plan's development; the plan, at a minimum, must identify the reasons for the absences and measures to overcome them

Initiation of judicial proceedings, which will be according to the professional judgment of the school principal and staff, except that such proceedings must be initiated if the student has more than thirty (30) truancies or unexcused absences during a school year; for the purpose of this subsection, absences due to suspension or expulsion will be counted as excused

Current DPS Policies cont. Provision of make-up work for suspended students upon the

request of the parent/guardian or student, which may include the granting of full or partial credit for such work, if satisfactorily completed in a timely manner

A means to ensure that rules are consistently applied to all students

Withdrawal, in a timely manner, of pupils over 16 years of age if they have been absent for a twenty (20) consecutive school days and absences are unexcused or truancies; for the purpose of this section, absences due to suspension will be considered as excused

Provided, however, that no student shall be withdrawn after twenty (20) consecutive school days until the school has made a substantial effort to contact the pupil and/or parent by telephone or home visit for the purpose of identifying the reasons for non-attendance and developing strategies to address them; appropriate school personnel, including the social worker and counselor, should be involved in this effort

Panel Two: Alternative Policies

Alternative One On-site school nurse to verify school

absences.Parents must bring students to school to confirm absences in order for absence to be excused. Modeled after Centennial High School in Fort Collins, CO Advantages: Less Unexcused Absences, Holds Parents

and Students Accountable, Stabilizing Funding Disadvantages: Overload on School Nurse, Costs,

Punishes Legitimately Sick Children Supporters: Teachers, Administrators, Stakeholders,

Health Care Community Opposition: Health Care Community, Parents

Alternative TwoCheck & Connect Program of Minneapolis Public

Schools“A key component is a monitor or mentor who is responsible for working with students and their families to support their participation and engagement in school.” Advantages: Trained Social Workers Provide

Comprehensive Mentoring for Families, Timely Intervention, Preventative (Early Intervention)

Disadvantages: Cost, Mentor to Student Ratio Issue, Family Privacy Issues, Scheduling Issues

Supporters: Teachers, Counselors, City Officials, School Site Administrators, Community at Large

Opposition: Families, Students, Taxpayers, Teachers

Alternative ThreeParent Incarceration

Chronic Absenteeism can lead to negligence charges which can result in parent incarceration. Advantages: decreased absenteeism, places

responsibility on parents, increased graduation rates, decreases juvenile crime

Disadvantages: Cost, Possible Job Loss, Punitive no Preventative, Parents avoid punishment by transferring to another district, creates adversarial relationship between parents, schools, police.

Supporters: Teachers, School Districts, Law Enforcement

Opposition: Parents, Civil Rights Advocates, Taxpayers

PANEL THREE: THE K.I.S.S. POLICY

K.I.S.S. the current DPS attendance policy

goodbye!

Definition Chronic Truancy is

considered to be five unexcused absences or ten total absences in a semester.

The K.I.S.S. PolicyNURSE ATTENDANCE CLERK Collects data on

students and identifies chronic truancy in students who are reported ill without a doctors note.

Reports chronic truancy to SRO.

Reports chronically truant students to SRO.

The K.I.S.S. PolicySCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER (SRO)

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR/SOCIAL WORKER

Makes home visits to chronically truant students to inform parents that student either needs to return to school the following school day or return an official doctor’s note to school the following school day.

Once students are identified as chronically truant, the SRO reports students to Guidance Counselor/Social Worker.

Enrolls student and family in the Check and Connect Program.

If family fails to commit to the program Guidance Counselor/Social Worker reports negligence to SRO for further action.

As a last resort… If parents refuse or fail the Check and

Connect Program, the SRO reports instance of educational neglect to the local police department.

Check and Connect ProgramThe Check and Connect Program is used as a comprehensive approach to promoting student engagement, family involvement in education and improving student attendance. CCP is reflective of Response to Intervention.

Key Features Guidance Counselor/ Social

Worker present in every school. Development of a long-term plan

focusing on the student’s educational success.

Routine monitoring of academic performance, behavior and attendance.

Timely and individualized intervention action taken based on monitoring results.

Ability to follow highly mobile youth from school to school.

Persistent source of academic motivation for students and families.

Promotes acquisition of problem solving skills.

Facilitates access to school related activities.

Role of the Guidance Counselor/Social Worker

Extends the school’s outreach services to the youth and family to overcome barriers that have created disconnect between the school and family.

Fosters development of life skills and problem solving skills.

Monitors student’s attendance, social/emotional and academic progress.

Monitors needs and progress of the family.

Program Impact in Minneapolis Public Schools

Elementary Referral Truancy Prevention Pilot Statistics Demographic: 363 youth with and without disabilities and

their families. Setting: suburban Age/Grade Level: referral at grades K-6, follow-along

through secondary grades Selected Indicators of Impact:

The percentage of students present at least 95% of the time increased from 17% at referral to 40% after 2 years of Check & Connect.

The percent of students arriving to school on time (no tardies) increased from 42% at time of referral to 86% after 2 years of Check & Connect.

Lehr, C. A., Sinclair, M. F., & Christenson, S. L. (2004). Addressing student engagement and truancy prevention during the elementary years: A replication study of the Check & Connect model. Journal of Education for Students Placed At Risk, 9(3), 279-301.

Panel Four:Action Plan

Action Plan: Steps We Have Taken

Researched the impact of truancy and absenteeism on academic, criminal, social and economic outcomes.

Examined current attendance policies of multiple states and school districts. Interviewed Jerry Mason, Director of Student Services at Denver Community

College, addressing truancy in high school effects success and placement in post-secondary education.

Surveyed educators from around the country regarding their local attendance policies, policy implementation and opinion on the effectiveness of the policies.

Phone interviewed June Arnett, Associate Director of the National School Safety Center, who directed us to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The OJJDP, distribute grant funds from the Department of Education and Department of Justice to schools for intervention and prevention programs to target truancy. We then researched how Colorado used these funds.

Interviewed Yilan Shen, Research Analyst with the NCLS, regarding existing state legislation on absenteeism in the US.

Interviewed State Senator Mike Johnson of CO on his perspective of the current Colorado state and district attendance policies.

Developed a comprehensive policy for the Denver Public School system based on our research, experience and needs of the school district.

Action Plan: Steps We Need To Take

Target elementary schools for an early intervention and prevention program.

Attend public meetings such as school board meetings and town hall meetings to keep abreast of current policies

Lobby and write letters to local public policy makers and stakeholders

Advocate for the policy to the public and local officials Hold public meetings to gain support of community Distribute flyers, stickers, buttons, KISSES and magnets to

gain attention for our policy Get a petition signed by community members who

support the policy Gain district and school faculty endorsements to validate

the policy at public meeting

A POEM BY BRIDGETTE

Closing

K.I.S.S IT GOODBYE!

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