Glenella School Attendance Program

March 8, 2013

“When stakeholders believe and understand the importance of attending school, attendance

will increase.”2011 video

Presentation Outline

• Objectives• Background Information• Our Program• Next Steps

Objectives

• Increase parent knowledge about the importance of attendance

• Ensure the needs of at risk students are acknowledged, and addressed, so they are successful in attending school regularly

• To increase student attendance at Glenella School to 90% by June, 2013

Background Information• K-12 School, with 125 students, 9 teaching

staff, 6 EA’s, and 4 support staff• Students bused to Glenella from the

neighboring communities of Kelwood, Riding Mountain and Amaranth

• Overall student absenteeism was high because parents put non-essential appointments and/or activities at a higher priority than school attendance

• There were some students living in difficult situations who were not engaged in their education. They do not have all their basic needs, such as lunch, being met.

• These basic needs are required for consistent attendance and engagement at school

• 13 out of 125 students are town students, so busing and weather can often be an issue

Our School

High School End

Elementary End

Our Perfect Attendance Program

C.F.S./Multiagency

School Culture

Increase Parent Knowledge

Office Follow-up

Office Follow-Up• We use a attendance tracking program

called Maplewood, and the secretary follows-up with missing students by 9:30 in the morning

• Most parents are good at calling/sending notes to the school prior to the start of the day to explain absences

• Principal follows-up with phone calls to families of students with multiple absences

• Talking to an actual person makes it difficult to have unexplained absences

• Since the program has started, parents are even more diligent about communicating with the school than before

Turtle River School Division policy states the following…

• That after three absences, a verbal warning is given to the student

• After five absences, a letter is mailed home

• After eight absences, a second letter is sent

• If a child misses more that 20% of school in a month, a truancy letter is sent from the school and the division office

Increasing Parent KnowledgeThe following initiatives were taken to

improve stakeholder knowledge…• Placemats• Magnets• Attendance policy is periodically

printed in newsletter, and it is in their student handbook

• Meetings with P.A.C.• Parent survey

The stakeholder survey (parents/staff/students) from the first year was used to help plan for the second year of the program.

“If you could change one thing about the Glenella School Perfect Attendance Program, what would it be?”

• Exclude medical absences from the “prizing”. • The whole thing shouldn’t be needed – attendance is a parent’s

responsibility.• Give out school supplies – we pay for enough stuff as it is now.• So far, so good!• I think this is a great idea – don’t change anything.• Send us info about how much improvement has been seen.• There needs to be more fairness in how the prizes are awarded.• Only reward the truly “perfect” attenders.• More choices for the prizes.

School CultureTo make Glenella School an inviting, safe and supportive place for all students, including at risk students, we offer

the following programs…

• Developed an active student council• Offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities• Scheduled open gym at noon hour daily• Healthy snack program• K-12 school activities (gym riots/spirit weeks/winter

activity days, etc.)• Strive for academic success for all• Monthly attendance celebration assemblies

C.F.S./Multiagency• In extreme cases, principal follows

through with other agencies to get advice and support

• This has only occurred once in this school year

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

K

gr 1,2

gr 3,4

gr 5,6

gr 7,8

gr 9,10

gr 11

gr 12

Month

% o

f 100

% A

ttend

ers

2012-2013 Perfect At-tenders by Grades

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June78

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

Attendance 2010-2013

2010/20112011/20122012/2013

Advantages

• Student, parent and community awareness of the importance of regular school attendance

• Students earn prizes for positive behavior and celebrate their success

• Students get full advantage of learning opportunities by being in school

• Improved communication between school and home relating to attendance and other issues

• Improved attendance

Challenges

• Rural location causes travel time for services such as medical, dental, and orthodontist appointments

• Farm related activities can cause absences

• When there is an illness outbreak, our small population can be hit hard

• Finding an acceptable definition of regular attendance

• Parents of chronic non-attendees are complacent about program

• Finding appropriate prizes for K-12 age group

• Our data is not consistent from year to year because of changes in administration and community/staff input

• Somewhat transient population results in fluctuating student numbers, and new students aren’t invested in the program

Next Steps• What to do when program ends and prizes either

disappear or become less attractive

• Will continue to communicate the importance attendance to stakeholders

• Continued support from P.A.C.

• Continue our healthy snack program

Attendance interview video by Grade 10 class

Questions and Comments?

Contact InformationGlenella School

Jennifer Sellman - Principaljsellman@trsd32.mb.ca204-352-4253