Understanding the Factors Contributing to Chronic Early Absence in Your School

8/9/2019 Understanding the Factors Contributing to Chronic Early Absence in Your School

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Understanding the Factors Contribution to Chronic EarlyAbsence in Your School

(Draft - May 18 2009)

Once you have been able to collect data on the prevalence of chronicearly absence for your school (and ideally district-wide), it is importantto unpackand understandthe factors that lead children to missschool for extended periods of time. These factors can vary acrossschools, communities and groups of families. Developing a moreinformed picture of the story behind the statistics on prevalence is a

critical step in developing effective interventions.

The strategies described below will help you to identify what isoccurring in your school and community. The attached matrix alsooffers a framework for using these activities to answer key questionsabout factors that contribute chronic early absence, as well as whatassets might be engaged to improve school attendance.

1. Examine data on chronic early absence.Review and reflect upon your school and district data on chronicearly absence. Below are some issues to discuss.

a. Does the level of chronic early absence affect a significantproportion of the student population (10% or more)? Is it higher or

lower than the rest of the school district? (High levels throughout adistrict suggest the existence of systemic challenges related toschool policy, practice or environmental conditions and/or relevantcommunity-wide social health or economic issues )


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community wide social health or economic issues )

3. Contact families when students are absent.When children are absent, especially for an extended period of

time, contact their families to show concern about their childs well-being. Begin to learn about the challenges they face to having theirchild attend school regularly. Track information and analyze it forcommon patterns. If possible, consider conducting a confidentialdata match with public agency records to find out how manyfamilies are also involved in their services such as child welfare,public assistance, food stamps and the criminal justice system.

4. Conduct early school success focus/ discussion groups.Focus or discussion groups with a variety of stakeholders, includingparents, students, school staff (teachers, support personnel, schoolnurses and social workers ) and staff of community agenciesincluding health practitioners will help you learn more about early

school experiences. Find staff or consultants with skills andexperience in holding focus groups to help design and facilitate theprocess. Take care to reach out to parents of different backgroundsincluding ethnicity, language, type of educational programs (forexample, special education and bilingual education as well asgeneral education). Often existing parent advisory committees maybe helpful resources for parent outreach. Rather than limiting thediscussions to barriers to attendance, it may be more helpful to

frame the issues around early academic success in order to look atthe overall situation and avoid feelings of stigma. Focus groups canbe used to identify strengths, as well as barriers to promotingregular school attendance and early school success


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FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CHRONIC ABSENCE: QUESTIONS FOR YOUR SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY

(Information in blue indicates potential sources of data to assess the relevance of possible contributing factors)A. Is chronic early absence a sign that that more attention should be paid to promoting

regular school attendance?Family School Community

1. Do parents indicate that they (andother families they know) think school

attendance is important, includingattendance in kindergarten?( Parent focus groups or survey)

2. Do students think it is important forthem to attend school every day?(Student focus groups or survey)

3. Is missing school a social norm? Doeschronic early absence affect a significantportion of the student population at aschool? From a particular neighborhood?

For the district as a whole? (Attendancedata)

1. Does the school conduct transitionactivities to bring parents and students

into the school and orient them to theimportance of attending school regularly?Do parents feel that such transition andorientation activities are helpful? (Reviewof school practice; parent focus groups)

2. Does the school communicate theimportance of school attendance toparents through, for example, materialssent home, school events, & interactionswith teachers & staff? If so, does thisinclude guidance about when to keep a

sick child at home and how to avoidunnecessary absence by keeping childrenhealthy and avoiding scheduling vacationsand appointments during school time?(Review of school practice)

3. Do teachers take roll daily? (Review ofschool practice and district policy)

4. Is the principal knowledgeable aboutindividual students or families withchronic early attendance problems?

(Principal interview)

5. Do school staff (teachers,administrators, school nurse or socialworker) contact families and speak withthem personally if a child is absentespecially, for extended periods of time?(Review of school practice, teacher andparent focus groups)

6. Do schools recognize and honorstudents with excellent attendance

records?With improved attendancerecords? (Review of school practice)

1. Are staff of family-serving communityagencies aware of the importance of regular

attendance in the early grades? (Focus groupswith agency staff)

2. Do family-serving community agencies helpto communicate the importance of schoolattendance through printed materials,parenting classes and/or other supports tofamilies? ( Review of on-site communityresources, focus groups with agency staff)

3. Do preschools and other child care providershelp families develop a regular routine of

school attendance prior to kindergarten? (Focusgroups or surveys of parents of preschoolerand preschool teachers; Data on child caresupply & percentage of kindergartners whoattended preschool)4. Do health providers (i.e. community clinicsand pediatricians) help to promote schoolattendance by educating families about theimportance of timely immunizations and takingsteps to prevent and address chronic illness toit does not affect school attendance?

Telephone survey of health providers, interviewwith administrator)

5. Do schools and community agenciesincluding health providers work together toidentify and support families with schoolattendance problems? (Focus group withagency staff & principal interview)

6. Do community agencies help parents toadopt strategies they can use at home topromote regular routines, especially consistent

school attendance?(Focus group with agency staff & parents)


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7. Does the school inform parents when astudent has a contagious health issue(e.g. strep or lice) and educate themabout how to identify and respond to thesituation so it will not be spread further?When students are ill, is there support tohelp them make up for missedinstruction? (Review of school practice)

7. Do community members and neighborsexpress concern if they notice young childrenare at home during a school day? (Parent &student focus groups)


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B. Is chronic early absence a sign of low levels of school outreach to and engagement ofparents?

Family School Community1. D

o parents feel a sense of connection to theschool community? Or do parents feelintimidated? (Parent focus groups)

2. Do parents participate in school activities (e.g.attending parent/teacher conferences,volunteering in the classroom, attendingschool-wide events)? Is this true for differentgroups of families at the school? (Parentsurvey, observations of school events, focusgroups with teachers)

3.Do parents feel comfortable talking with theteachers or other school staff (administrator,social worker or school nurse) about problems

that are affecting their childs attendance?(Parent focus groups or survey)

4. Do parents feel hopeful that school will havea positive affect on their childrens well-being? (Parent focus groups or survey)

5. What is the educational experience ofparents? Do some parents feel alienatedbecause they experienced educationalfailure? Does the school serve anycommunities who have a prior history ofnegative experience with formal education?(Parent focus groups and/or survey)

1. Does the school actively helpparents of all backgrounds understandtheir approach to teaching andlearning? (Parent focus groups)

2.Does the school staff regularlycommunicate with parents about theirchilds academic progress and howthey can assist in their educationduring times and at locations thatallow parents, especially who work, toparticipate? (Teacher & parent focusgroups)

3. Does the school offer a range ofopportunities for parents to getinvolved? Are at least some of these

opportunities appropriate and inviting,especially for working parents withlimited economic resources and jobflexibility and/or who are cultural andlinguistic minorities? (Teacher &parents focus groups and/or surveys)

4. Does the school staff have thecapacity to communicate with andengage parents who speak languagesother than English? (Review of staffbackground)

1.Do community agencies use the schoolfacility as a venue for offering neededsupports to families (e.g. parentingclasses, education and trainingopportunities, access to social services,health services such as well-childchecks, immunizations, healtheducation programs, etc.) ? (Review ofschool practice)

2. Do community agencies help parents tounderstand how they can get involvedin childrens schools? (Focus groupswith agency staff & parents)

3. Are high quality early care andeducation programs and experiences

available to families? (Data on childcare supply and quality ratings ifavailable, % of kindergartners whoattended preschool, focus groups withparents)

4. Is parent engagement supported andnurtured prior to kindergarten thruearly childhood and educationprograms? (Focus groups with parentsand preschool teachers)

5. What is the overall educational level ofadults in the community where childrenlive? Are there adults who can serve asmentors and guides to educationalsuccess to friends and neighbors?(Census data on education levels ofadults in the community, focus groupswith parents)

6. Do community and business leadersactively encourage parents to sendtheir children to school regularly and

get involved in their schools? (Focusgroups with parents & teachers)


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C. Is chronic early absence a sign of a poor quality educational program?Family School Community

1. Are children anxious about attendingschool because they are struggling tokeep up academically? (Focus groupswith students and parents)

2. Do students indicate that they dislikeor feel bored by school? (Student focusgroups and/or surveys)

3. Do children report feeling a sense oftrust and connection to their teachers?To other adults at the school?(Student focus groups)

4. Do students report feeling fearfulbecause of bullying and threats fromother children? (Student focus groups)

5. Are parents pleased or concernedabout the quality of the education thattheir child is receiving? (Parent focusgroups and/or surveys)

6. Are parents pleased or concernedabout the effectiveness of theirchildrens teachers and the principal ?(Parent focus groups with and/orsurveys, ideally with families of diversebackgrounds)

7. Do parents feel that the needs ofchildren with learning disabilities arebeing adequately diagnosed andaddressed? (Parent focus groupsand/or surveys)

1. Does the school have anexperienced and skilled siteadministrator? (Teacher & parentfocus groups)

2. Are teachers experienced andtrained? (School district teacher data)

3. Does the school suffer from highlevels of teacher turnover ? (Schooldistrict teacher data, principalinterview)

4. Is the school able to maintainreasonable class sizes? (Review ofschool data, principal interview)

5. Does the school have a thoughtful

curriculum and learning philosophy inplace? (Teacher focus group)

6. Are school staff knowledgeable andskilled in identifying and addressing theneeds of children with special needs?(Teacher focus group, principalinterview)

7. Are school staff trained and skilled inpromoting a positive school climate andhelping children resolve conflicts

peacefully? Has the school madeparents aware of these practices andhow they can support them? (Teacherand student focus groups)

8. Do test scores indicate that schoolperformance is improving or declining?(School test score data)

8. Does the school have well-maintained and safe facilities? (Directobservation; Focus groups withteachers, students & parents, considerusing the environmental assessment

1. Do community agencies or communityvolunteers provide extra tutoring andacademic resources to help studentsstruggling academically? (Review of on-site community resources; teacher focusgroup, principal interview)

2. Is mental health consultation availableto teachers, students and familiesthrough partnerships with communityagencies? (Review of communityresources, principal interview)

3. Do community agencies providechildren in the early grades with highquality afterschool programming?(Review of on-site community resources;parent focus groups)


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developed for schools by the EPA(http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/)

D. Is chronic early absence a sign of challenging social, health and economic conditions in the community?Family School Community

1. Do students or parents miss schoolbecause of issues related to economics e.g.lack transportation, inadequate clothingespecially in bad weather, parents workinglong hours etc? (Parent & student focus

groups or surveys; contacts with chronicallyabsent families)

2. Do parents feel they can easily turn tofriends, relatives or neighbors for help in caringfor their children, including getting them toschool as the need arises? (Parent interviewsand surveys)

3. Are children absent from school becausethey are sick and cannot obtain needed

medical treatment? (Contacts with chronicallyabsent families)

4. Are chronically absent students fromhouseholds with multiple risks (e.g. low-income, single parent, teen parenthood,multiple siblings, a parent in poor health)?(Contacts with chronically absent families)

5. Are chronically absent students fromfamilies in crisis, e.g. involved in the childwelfare system, homeless, dealing with

domestic abuse or parental incarceration?(Contacts with chronically absent families;Confidential data match with public agency

1. Does the school work with parents andother community partners to createopportunities for families to buildrelationships so that they can offermutual support in times of need?

(Review of school practice, teacher &parent focus groups)

2. Does the school work with other socialservice agencies to ensure families,especially those with children showingpatterns of chronic absence, receiveon-going case management along withneeded social, health and economicsupports? (Focus groups with teacher,community agency staff & parents ofchronically absent students)

3. Does the school have access to aschool nurse who can help to ensuresick children are treated and to connectlow-income children to subsidizedhealth insurance and medical care aswell as to support management ofhealth issues such asthma, foodallergies, diabetes, etc.? (Principalinterview, review of school staffingpatterns)

4. Does the school have relationshipsto public agency staff so they can help

1. Are community agencies availableto partner with the school to meet theeconomic and housing needs of familiesat the school? (Principal interview, focusgroups with agency staff & parents)

2. Do family and youth servingagencies create opportunities for familiesto build relationships so that they canoffer each mutual support in times ofneed?(Focus groups with agency staff &parents)

3. Is health care accessible andaffordable for families in the community?Does this include culturally and

linguistically appropriate forms of mentalheath care as well as substance abusetreatment?(data on health care facilities,staffing and cost; parent focus groups)

4. Are public and non-profit agenciesinvolved in the child welfare, juvenile &criminal justice systems working closelywith the school to ensure that childrensschool placement is as stable aspossible? (Principal interview; agencystaff focus group)

5. Has the neighborhood undergoneany major redevelopment projects


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data)

6. Have chronically absent children movedmultiple times in the past year or two? (Schooldistrict data) What appear to be the reasonsfor these moves? Lack of affordable housing?Seeking better jobs? Immigration statusrelated challenges? (Contacts with chronicallyabsent families)

7. Do students or parent express concernsabout traveling safely to and from school?(Parent & student focus groups)

8. Have chronically absent students or theirfamilies witnessed or fallen victim to violentcrime? (Contacts with chronically absentfamilies)

ensure attention to school issues iffamilies are in crisis e.g. child ordomestic abuse or incarceration of aparent? (Principal interview; teacherfocus groups)

5. Is there a wait time for children totransfer to another school in the districtthat causes a child to miss days of

school? (Review of district policy andpractice)

6. When community violence erupts, isthe school considered a safe haven?(Focus groups with parents, teachers,students)

causing the displacement of families?(Parent & agency staff focus groups)

6. Does the neighborhood suffer fromhigh rates of community violence? (Policedepartment data)

7. Does the neighborhood suffer fromenvironmental conditions (e.g. air

pollution, lead poisoning, mold) thatcould cause chronic disease or disabilitiesamong children as well as other familymembers? (public health departmentdata) .

Documents

Understanding the Factors Contributing to Chronic Early Absence in Your School