Persistent absenteeism stays a widespread problem in faculties throughout the nation, however in Wisconsin, Racine Unified College District’s Julian Thomas Elementary and Jerstad-Agerholm Center College are demonstrating that revolutionary, data-driven approaches could make a distinction.
Utilizing Panorama Schooling’s knowledge platform to watch attendance, pupil well-being, and tutorial efficiency, faculties in Racine USD equip educators with helpful insights that allow them to design focused methods that deal with absenteeism at its root. The district depends on Panorama’s platform as a one-stop store in terms of knowledge. The platform lets faculty and district leaders drill all the way down to grade- and classroom-level knowledge to look at attendance, grades, behaviors, and life abilities.
After becoming a member of Jerstad-Agerholm Center College because the academy principal, Jason Paproth began digging into the varsity’s attendance knowledge and found that whereas constructing attendance was between 83 and 84 p.c, Black pupil attendance was 13 p.c decrease than white and Hispanic pupil attendance. So, faculty workers set about altering that development and turned to the real-time knowledge collected by way of Panorama’s platform to start.
“I took that on instantly,” Paproth mentioned. “Attendance was an issue district-wide, and the district supported us in creating attendance groups. Once I have a look at college students battling attendance, Panorama guides the interventions I need to use.”
These interventions can handle a large number of things contributing to attendance, equivalent to a pupil’s sense of belonging–one thing analysis has proven is a important a part of tutorial success. Panorama defines pupil belonging as “the extent to which college students really feel that they’re valued members of their faculty’s neighborhood,” and its sequence of surveys give district educators entry to research-backed instruments they’ll use to determine alternatives for pupil development and to rejoice pupil success.
For instance, if a pupil has rated their sense of belonging at 0 or 1 and in addition reveals low attendance, Paproth assigns a mentor to work with that pupil as a part of an general intervention plan to spice up that pupil’s well-being and encourage higher attendance.
“Having the info and the variety of issues you may pull from that knowledge–it’s simply unbelievable,” Paproth mentioned. “We will look academically, behaviorally, attendance-wise to see if college students are trending in the correct or incorrect path. It’s real-time knowledge you need to use instantly. The AI characteristic can present me all 8th grade college students who’re chronically absent who even have a zero for his or her sense of belonging.”
The district’s challenges with pupil attendance will not be distinctive–throughout the nation, persistent absenteeism is considered one of schooling’s high challenges.
“We carried out analysis throughout 7,000 faculties and over 11 million college students and located that faculties can instantly affect a pupil’s probability of being chronically absent by as a lot as 22 p.c,” mentioned Douglas Coulter, Panorama’s Director of Knowledge Science. “When taking a look at faculties utilizing our surveys, we discovered elements correlated with persistent absenteeism shift by age: for elementary faculties, feeling secure at college is the strongest predictor of attendance; for center faculties, it’s about faculty local weather and whether or not college students really feel a way of belonging; and for top faculties, attendance is tied to social connectedness and the power to set objectives, plan, and handle time. Colleges that acknowledge these patterns–like these in Racine–are utilizing data-driven approaches to deal with absenteeism in ways in which really resonate with their college students, resulting in actual, measurable enhancements.”
First steps are important
Utilizing knowledge to fulfill college students and their households the place they’re, and to make attending faculty enjoyable, go a great distance within the effort to enhance attendance, mentioned Emma Baertlein, a social employee at Julian Thomas Elementary.
“As a district, we seen that attendance was declining, and our attendance groups deliver the difficulty to the forefront to deal with considerations,” Baertlein mentioned. “The Panorama knowledge has been nice in enabling us to get extra particular data on a pupil, together with life abilities and the way college students are doing general.” This knowledge informs educators as they craft attendance plans primarily based on a pupil’s particular person knowledge and wishes, she famous.
“Step one is gathering dependable knowledge to achieve an early understanding of what elements are more likely to contribute to a pupil being absent, equivalent to utilizing a analysis backed survey to evaluate a few of these important life abilities/competencies. Colleges that take a proactive, data-driven strategy can pinpoint what’s working and what’s not. Take Racine–they had been in a position to make a tangible affect on college students by gathering the info, understanding it, after which taking motion,” Coulter added.
“Assembly the household the place they’re [is critical],” Baertlein mentioned. “Having lecturers concerned, having a social employee step in, displaying how a lot we care in regards to the college students and care about them being right here. It helps the household understand how a lot we wish them right here, and it helps college students with a way of belonging. Optimistic communication with households is essential.”
“As soon as faculties perceive the foundation causes of absenteeism, they’ll give attention to making a safer, extra supportive, and interesting surroundings. Implementing faculty security packages via actions like artistic writing classes and modeling battle decision strategies may help youthful college students construct empathy and optimistic social abilities,”Coulter mentioned. “Offering secure areas and coping instruments, together with common check-ins, ensures college students really feel supported. Coaching workers in a resilience knowledgeable strategy–equivalent to sustaining predictable routines and fostering sturdy relationships–also can assist create a extra secure studying surroundings. For highschool college students, constructing sturdy student-teacher relationships is essential. When college students really feel that their lecturers genuinely care about their success, they’re extra more likely to present up and keep engaged.”
“It’s a must to get on it instantly,” Paproth mentioned. In Jerstad-Agerholm Center College, lecturers name a pupil’s house after that pupil has missed two days of faculty, however they make the cellphone name optimistic, asking dad and mom and caregivers how the varsity can help the coed. Cellphone calls like that usually make clear private data directors could not have recognized about, equivalent to difficult household or work dynamics, and so they result in open conversations designed with the coed’s attendance and success on the coronary heart of the dialogue.
“When dad and mom know we wish their children right here, they’re extra open to speak. We have a look at attendance from a optimistic lens: We would like your youngster right here; how can we get them right here? If you begin the yr with that mindset, it is going to get you off to begin,” Paproth added.
Return on funding
Enhancements in pupil attendance could be linked to data-informed choices–and the way the faculties rejoice college students after they come to high school.
At Jerstad-Agerholm Center College, persistent absenteeism decreased by 3 p.c, and Black pupil attendance has elevated by 13 p.c because the faculty began utilizing attendance groups and analyzing attendance knowledge.
Julian Thomas Elementary has noticed an 8 p.c discount in pupil absences via cautious interventions and incentives primarily based on what Panorama’s knowledge revealed about pupil attendance.
A duck pull at Julian Thomas Elementary is the most recent draw for college students to keep up attendance–if a pupil is absent for two days or much less, they’ll take part in a month-to-month duck pull.
“We maintain the duck pull on Tuesdays as a result of our Panorama knowledge revealed that Tuesdays are our least-attended day of the week,” Baertlein mentioned. “We use it as an incentive to come back on Tuesday. The youngsters adore it–they know the place their attendance is and in the event that they’ll make the duck pull that month. We’ve seen an 8 p.c discount in absences.”
Jerstad-Agerholm Center College motivates college students with in-building celebrations and occasions, together with discipline journeys, quarterly dances, and bike raffles, all linked to pupil attendance.
“We all know our lowest attendance weeks are these resulting in holidays, equivalent to Thanksgiving and spring break,” Paproth mentioned. “We maintain grade-level homeroom challenges with ice cream or a pizza occasion as a reward.” This yr, the varsity noticed nice success, with pupil attendance about 6 p.c increased in 8th grade.
“The intervention you’re utilizing, the reward, needs to be what the children need, not what we as educators need,” Paproth mentioned. “We’ve requested our youngsters what they want in the event that they got here to high school on daily basis for two weeks–McDonald’s, a brand new backpack–it needs to be student-specific if you’d like it to achieve success. Our youngsters are distinctive, with their very own challenges and successes.”
“It’s actually in regards to the children coming to high school and having enjoyable, attending to expertise issues and incomes optimistic rewards,” Baertlein added.
“Final yr, we had eradicated all discrepancies associated to race and attendance,” Paproth mentioned. “Getting that knowledge in entrance of our help workers, lecturers, counselors, social employees–all people has a hand in getting children in our constructing. That staff strategy and getting that knowledge [are critical]. That knowledge is in entrance of all people; we speak about it biweekly. It’s actually on the entrance of the whole lot we’re doing proper now. If our youngsters aren’t within the constructing, they’re not studying.”
For extra on pupil attendance, go to eSN’s Instructional Management hub.
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the College of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism.