School Leader's Guide To Tackling Attendance Challenges

“For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school.”

With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritising student attendance. This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools needed to implement a multitiered approach to improving attendance and preventing chronic absence. The authors use the results of their work in schools throughout the USA to dispel the myth that educators have little control over student attendance and provide success stories from primary and secondary schools that have reversed long-standing patterns of absenteeism.

Citing extensive research, Sprick and Sprick share details about the shocking prevalence of chronic absence in U.S. schools and its effects on students, teachers, families, and the school community. They explain how to replace punitive approaches to absenteeism with effective methods that begin with universal supports and continue through Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions for students with more persistent problems. Specifically, they explain how to:

• Build an effective school team to address absenteeism.
• Create systems to collect accurate data and set priorities.
• Develop an attendance initiative that generates student enthusiasm as well as staff, parent, and community support.
• Design and implement strategies that are tailored to specific schoolwide concerns and demographics that reach all students.

Equipped with the information and tools presented in this book, educators can ensure wise use of staff and other resources - and create a culture of attendance that is the foundation of successful schools.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

1. Understanding the Stakes: Why We Should Address Chronic Absence 9
2. Building an Effective Team 23
3. Creating Systems to Regularly Collect Data and Set Priorities 35
4. Engaging and Supporting Staff in Attendance Efforts 55
5. Creating and Sustaining an Attendance Campaign 73
6. Teaching Students about the Importance of Regular Attendance 100
7. Enhancing Family and Community Involvement 111
8. Implementing Tailored Strategies to Address Schoolwide Priorities 143
9. Analyzing and Revising Attendance Policies 163
10. Designing and Implementing Effective Early-Stage Intervention Approaches 174
11. Designing and Implementing Function-Based Approaches for Students with Ongoing Attendance Concerns 190

Conclusion 203

Appendix A 207

Appendix B 214

References 217

Index 223

About the Authors 231

"School Leader’s Guide to Tackling Attendance Challenges is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to school district, college, and university library Teacher Education instructional reference collections."
- Midwest Book Review