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Using the data below, describe all intervention strategies employed by the school to improve the academic performance of students identified by the early warning system.
Attendance Interventions:
- Identify students with 5 unexcused absences within a 30-day period. As soon as possible, schedule parent conferences with an administrator, teachers, school counselor, and/or school social worker. This conference is intended to educate parents about their responsibility to report absences, identify barriers to regular school attendance, and resolve the problem of non-attendance. For truancy prevention of enrolled students aged 6 and up, a meeting is required by all public schools under Florida statute 1003.26(1)(b). This conference also helps reduce the number of parents that may be involved in the final stages of the Broward Truancy Intervention Program (BTIP) or for families that may reach a point where the State Attorney’s Office must become involved in relation to a student’s nonattendance under Florida statute 1003.27.
- Recognize good and improved attendance weekly for students that have attendance goals and time frames that are attainable to help improve attendance for at-risk or chronically absent students. Include parents and students when possible.
- Recognize these students routinely for good and improved attendance. Positive reinforcement and trusting relationships with staff can help improve attendance.
- Our school may initiate the use of “Attendance Buddies.” An Attendance Buddy can be adults and responsible student volunteers who partner with “at-risk attendance” students to form relationships that encourage better attendance. Students that might benefit from an Attendance Buddy can be identified as those with a prior history of chronic absenteeism and current year absences.
- Parent-Teacher Conferences with support staff will be scheduled to discuss absences and challenges to identify the barriers that may be addressed through community support (transportation, food pantry, and family counseling through BCPS).
- Involve public agencies, community partners, and resources as needed to address barriers identified through parent conferences, communications with family, or other sources.
- Involve the school nurse when necessary to follow-up on medically related absences and train staff to recognize signs of illness.
- School website includes a page titled “Report an Absence” under the Contact menu to inform all stakeholders how parents can report an excused absence by: note, voicemail, or electronic transmission. The website will include the dedicated Attendance Line phone number and a link to an online form.
- In regular ParentLink communications, the administrator or designee will include brief messages about school attendance.
- Appropriate staff will call or email parents to verify excused absences as needed.
- Regularly share information about the current state of attendance at parent conferences, PTA/PTSA meetings, SAC meetings, SAF meetings, student assemblies, morning announcements, school newsletters, and ParentLink communications. (SAC is the School Advisory Council; SAF is the School Advisory Forum).
- ParentLink emails can be used to communicate attendance goals to all parents. This strategy helps maintain a focus on the impact of attendance in relation to academic achievement.
- Recognize Good and Improved Attendance (Tier 1). Regular attendees are at school more than 95% of school days. Recognize entire grade levels that have the highest percentage of students in regular attendance. Announcements may be made during morning announcements/shows, lunch periods, afternoon announcements, a common bulletin board, and special student assemblies.
- Start with “Hello.” Teachers, administrators, and support staff visibility in the hallways is helpful for safety. Greeting students with positive affirmations helps establish positive relationships and a healthy school culture associated with improved attendance.
- Congratulate regular attendees with an email through ParentLink to all parents of regular attendees. Community partners may share coupons or vouchers that can be distributed by email (saving paper, ink, time, and manpower for distribution).
- Make direct phone calls to discuss attendance, and after-school opportunities (clubs, athletics, academic support programs, post-secondary plans).
- Ensure that parent phone numbers and email addresses remain current by encouraging online registration at the beginning of the school year and cross-checking parent contact information when a parent reports an absence.
- For each student's absence, a robocall will be initiated to the parent of each absent student to include a voice message, text message, and email to notify the parent of a recorded absence and the expectation to request the reason for absence from the parent. These calls are initiated by a District office to aid in the efficiency of day-to-day operations at the school.
- Include attendance information on student report cards to display the number of days present, absent, and tardy. Accurate attendance recordkeeping helps facilitate this personalization.
- Promote awareness of the school breakfast program that is available to all students AT NO COST.
- Invite parents and community members to community meetings to help address the barriers that keep children from attending school. Topics may include mental health, transportation, homelessness and the McKinney Vento Act, Child abuse, domestic violence, foster care, and other topics identified by stakeholders (parents, teachers, administrators, students, and community partners).
- Weekly, using FOCUS, the leadership team will identify students that have enough absences to be considered chronically absent. Data will help the team determine which families to include special messaging to reduce absences.
- Teachers will monitor attendance using Pinnacle and BASIS and consult with support staff for help in redirecting absenteeism behavior.
- School Counselors will monitor attendance with the leadership team to assist in identifying students that may have a need for wrap-around services. Appropriate District support staff will be included in communication for cases that are likely to involve a need for medical interventions (school nurse), assess needs related to mental health and family stability (school psychologist or school social worker).
- Attendance Success Plans and Attendance Contracts: For students with excessive absences (excused or unexcused), templates are available from the Student Services Department’s Attendance Program and School Social Work Program. Parents and students will work with the School Counselor or School Social Worker to develop a personalized “Student Success Plan for Attendance” to help track attendance, so the child does not miss too many school days. There is a correlation between good attendance and good academic performance.
- School Counselors, as part of the school’s leadership team and support staff, will reach out by phone to speak with parents of chronically absent students to identify if any support is needed for the family. · Staff will help identify any family needs and connect the family with services (food pantry, clothing assistance, literacy programs, transportation, etc.).
- Help parents understand and avoid legal consequences of extreme chronic absence.
- Nurture teacher interest and capacity in helping to reach out to chronically absent students and their families.
- Determine if the student has make-up work that is needed to keep up their grade point average and ensure the student and their family understand what make-up work is due.
- Engage students in tracking their own attendance daily.
- August/September: Identify students with a history of severe chronic absenteeism (missing more than 20% of a school year).
- Review attendance daily and ensure that Tier 3 students are in school each day. Follow up on each absence for each student identified for Tier 3 intervention. Personal communication early in the school year may mitigate the need for further Tier 2/3 interventions later in the school year.
- Leadership team will monitor the non-attendance report from Opti-Spool, data from BASIS to identify students that are missing too many school days. Determine if a student is exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance. Child study teams like Collaborative Problem-Solving Team (CPST) or Response-to-Intervention (RtI) may be needed for determination.
- Attendance data is one of the metrics brought to discussion for the Collaborative Problem-Solving Team (CPST) and Response-to-Intervention (RtI). Attendance data may help uncover bigger issues the student or family are experiencing.
- For students whose parents are not responding to interventions, ensure that teachers have logged frequent attempts at communication in BASIS under Tier 1 Behavior. The school should retain copies of attendance contracts and “Attendance Success Plans” that may be used as evidence of school interventions if legal interventions are needed in the future. B. Engage Students and Families (Tier 3) Assess student and family needs and intensify outreach.
- Determine if the student and their family are, or should be, agency involved. If they are, work to set up a meeting to coordinate services.
- Refer students and families to appropriate service agencies (e.g., social services, human resources, counseling, housing, and health services).
- Work with relevant agencies to develop a comprehensive educational plan that also addresses student and family needs.
- Share data with appropriate agencies and ensure that agencies are using chronic absence as a must respond-to indicator.
- Work with families to avoid legal consequences to the extent possible.
Academic Interventions:
- Based upon reading diagnostics completed in the month of September, students will be assigned to tiered interventions and will participate in quarterly, data driven diagnostic assessments to monitor progress.
- Assessment data results as well as current interventions will be monitored and reviewed at monthly Academic Team meetings.
- Professional Development utilized to provide training on multisensory reading interventions will be integrated into weekly PLC meetings.
- Staff will utilize culturally responsive strategies to personalize, modify and/ or differentiate instruction to meet the culturally diverse needs of all students.
- Utilize Instructional Focus Calendar (IFC).
- Assessment data results will be monitored and reviewed at Academic Team meetings.
- Professional Development utilized to provide training on multisensory reading interventions will be integrated into weekly PLC meetings.
- Monitoring of new teachers identified by TIER.
- The team meets twice quarterly to collect and review data.
- I Ready data will continue to be used to identify tiers of intervention.
- Following Reading Decision Tree data monitoring via IReady for grades 6-12.
- All middle school students have been placed in a reading course utilizing (Course Placement C). Depending on FAST score and Read 180 HMH data, students are either not placed in a reading course or they’re placed in Course Placement C.
- Career literacy is addressed through Voc Rehab (VR).
- Community Literacy Program is addressed for students returning for FAPE and VR.
Behavior Interventions:
- Staff will monitor student behavior and analyze data to determine patterns and trends during level team meetings. Interventions will be discussed and tracked for success.
- School-wide expectations and location-specific rules are posted across campus.
- All teachers will have been trained or will be trained on PBIS.
- All staff will be trained in de-escalation techniques.
- Professional Development utilized to provide training CHAMPS will be integrated into weekly PLC meetings.
- Staff will employ behavioral, social emotional, and disciplinary initiatives.
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