From A(Absent) to P(Present)By Doug Crowley and Nejdet Isufi, Assistant Principals, DeForest Area High School Chronic Absenteeism reduction, as defined by the State, has been an over-the-years concern. De Forest School District continues to improve our communication to our families every year as we talk about the importance (academically, socially, and emotionally) of regular attendance as we know habits start at the levels below high school and with siblings being in, potentially, four different buildings in our district, consistent messaging is vital. This year, in an effort to combat absenteeism, as well as “clean up” some recording errors, we at DAHS are using an attendance code of “F” (stands for “Fragmented)”) developed by AP Nejdet Isufi and refined by our great School Social Worker team. Staff use this when a student is gone from class for 15+ minutes. For example, if a student leaves, with permission, for a 5 minute bathroom break and is gone for an additional 11 minutes, for a total of 16 minutes, we ask staff to use “F” because the total time out of class exceeds 15 minutes. For APs, “F” also stands as a “Flag” and tells us that we need to connect with that student. Lastly, this new code has greatly improved our PBIS efforts to separate behavior from attendance. We are taking a holistic approach to this as we have looked at our data regarding students with break passes. We presented the attendance data for each student with a pass in an effort to begin conversations around who gets one, what’s the follow up, and what is the benefit (or not) of said pass. Additionally, we are looking into students who are doing well academically and how that factors into how much school they decide to miss and then what do conversations with students and families look like if they are doing well? Some of our initial noticings this year include that our students who are being marked as “Fragmented” are less of repeat-offenders from the last few years when students were being marked as “Absent”. Our communication to and from home sounds different and better; it’s been easier to explain that a student was to be gone 5 minutes and took 40 minutes; it’s provided less “student said/teacher said” moments. Also, it’s been helpful for our safety learnings as we have a much better handle on who’s in the building and who’s not (almost all students receiving a “Fragmented” end up returning to class. Previously, students who had missed 15+ minutes and were marked as “Absent” argued “What’s the point of going if I’m already marked absent?”). The talks with students who we do pull in based on a “Fragmented” attendance start with inquiry and extend to support. For a very few with repeated “F”s, further supports and reinforcements, including family communication about attendance and supervised or limited pass usage, have been used. Overall, has this change helped improve our record-keeping? Yes. More importantly, though, it’s provided consistency in holding expectations, resulting in more fruitful conversations with students and families about barriers to staying in class.
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