How to increase school attendance in Rhode Island? With public rankings and Oprah Winfrey-style awards

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When crossing a busy street prevented a child from reaching the bus, George J. West Elementary School Principal Lisa Vargas-Sinapi had a practical solution: move the bus stop.

When children are sick, they are offered appointments at the school health center.

And if families share plans to take children on extended vacations, Vargas-Sinapi explains why that could hurt their education and helps identify childcare so they can stay in school.

“We are walking on a tightrope,” Vargas-Sinapi said. “We maintain expectations, but we offer support, whatever it may be.”

There is no single cause for the absenteeism crisis, nor is there a universal solution, but one factor in improving school attendance is consistent effort.

In Rhode Island, attendance expectations are top of mind, reactions to potential problems are swift, and everyone from mayors to doctors is emphasizing the issue. When students miss school, it immediately shows up on a dashboard that anyone can see. The governor checks the dashboard several times a day, and schools get a call if he spots a problem. Meanwhile, school staff like Vargas-Sinapi are solving problems large and small that keep kids from attending school.

Experts say this type of comprehensive approach is what is needed to turn the tide on chronic absenteeism. Rhode Island's work has He won praise from the White House. and was highlighted by a bipartisan coalition Urging schools to prioritize better attendanceAnd other states like Nevada and Hawaii have reached out to Rhode Island to learn about its strategies.

But state and school leaders say they still have a lot of work to do to get more kids to attend school and stay there. Maintaining momentum is difficult, especially as schools approach pre-pandemic absenteeism rates, leaving the toughest attendance issues unresolved.

“We’re not going to let our foot off the gas,” said Angélica Infante-Green, Rhode Island’s education commissioner. “We don’t want people to think, ‘OK, we’re good enough.’ It’s not good enough.”

Why Rhode Island's model of assistance stands out

Before the pandemic, 19 percent of Rhode Island students were chronically absent — missing 18 or more days of school. That rate shot up to 34 percent during the 2021-22 school year, when absenteeism peaked nationwide, and then dropped to 29 percent the following year. It was the fourth-largest decline among states that year. According to data compiled by The Associated Press and Stanford University professor Thomas Dee.

Last school year, Rhode Island's rate dropped again to 25 percent.

Education policy experts who have examined Rhode Island's attendance strategy say there are two key components that make it stand out.

The first is the Rhode Island Department of Education. Public “leaderboard” which shows attendance metrics for each school. It is updated daily and is connected to student academic performance. Everyone from parents to mayors can see how children who miss a lot of school tend to get worse grades in reading and math.

“It’s been shocking for people,” Infante-Green said. “When we say ‘every day counts,’ they see the difference now.”

The second is an effort to get people outside of schools to work to reduce chronic absenteeism. Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat who has made Improving attendance is a state priorityasked mayors and city managers to sign an agreement listing concrete steps they would take to increase attendance, such as offering children leadership opportunities in their hometowns. In exchange, they would be eligible for a new state subsidy that can be used for build and expand community centers offering services such as tutoring. All but one registered.

Other state departments also got involved. Rhode Island's Secretary of Commerce Asked local businesses not to schedule classes for high school students work during school hours, and the health department directed pediatricians to ask families how often their children miss school when they come in for a checkup.

This is a real shift from the past, when educators addressed absenteeism largely on their own, said Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University.

“One of the curiously positive aspects of the pandemic is that it has helped policymakers, both inside and outside of education, understand that student education is a community responsibility,” said Toch, whose think tank published a report this month. on Rhode Island's relief work“There are many other public entities that provide services to students and families, as well as the private sector, in the form of employers, that have an important role to play in getting children to school.”

Before the pandemic, 37 percent of Providence Public Schools students were chronically absent. That percentage shot up to 57 percent during the 2021-22 school year, then declined over the next two years, finally reaching 36 percent last school year.

George J. West was one of the biggest improvers. After peaking at 58 percent three years ago, the school reduced chronic absenteeism to 29 percent last school year.

District and school leaders attribute that drop to a few strategies. Officials formed a district-level attendance team to support teams already working in schools and began using a new data platform that made it easier to identify students as they accumulated absences. Staff used the data to identify which children would benefit most from a home visit before knocking on doors.

Schools paid special attention to younger children. At the national level, Absenteeism in kindergarten has been especially high.

At Asa Messer Elementary School in Providence, the school social worker called parents of kindergarten children who were not attending regularly to see if there was any support the school could provide, while emphasizing that children who miss a lot of kindergarten tend to be absent a lot in later grades of school as well.

“Once parents realize that, they're like, 'Wow! Let me take my kid to school,'” said Cassandra Henderson, principal at Asa Messer.

Providence uses incentives and inclusion to increase attendance

One of the most difficult aspects of the absenteeism crisis is the number of factors driving it.

A parent may struggle to get their child to school on time between their jobs, or a teenager may miss school to care for a younger sibling. Pressure to work, mental health issues, and fears of falling behind in school can keep children from attending school.

No intervention solves all of those problems, and it is not uncommon for schools to find that none of their assistance strategies are particularly effective, according to Research published by the RAND Corporation.

In Providence, working with parents' schedules is crucial, said Carina Pinto de Chacon, the district's chief of family and community engagement.

A parent may need to drop off their child early or pick them up later. Finding a child an after-school schedule or moving siblings to be in the same building can be a big boost. Asa Messer Elementary School helped an anxious second grader who missed a lot of school adjust with a shorter schedule and check-ins with the social worker.

Some Providence schools even sent parents or school staff to pick up children at home and walk with them to school, known as a “walking school bus.” Some student advisory council members also began calling classmates to see if they needed transportation, Pinto de Chacon said.

Rewards for improved attendance, such as pizza parties and gift cards, have also been helpful.

Still, school staff say Many of the incentives that children like the most It doesn't cost anything.

At George J. West Elementary School, Vargas-Sinapi spun a wheel to award prizes like extra recess or computer time. At Asa Messer, kids received recognition for improving their attendance over the speaker or the chance to play freeze dance with their principal. Sometimes, the attendance team would “rush into the classroom” to greet kids and give them small gifts in a classroom setting. “Something like Oprah.”

“Students would then be a positive influence on their peers,” Henderson said.

Henderson also created a student council and invited kids who wouldn't normally be selected to participate. Knowing they had to show up for a meeting helped boost attendance.

And tutoring English learners helped them bond with their classmates, feel less anxious about language barriers, and enjoy attending school more.

The Providence district’s goal is to reduce chronic absenteeism to 20 percent over the next two years — nearly as low as the pre-pandemic rate in Rhode Island.

George J. West identified 56 students who greatly improved their attendance last school year, but still missed more than 18 days. The school counselor called their families this summer to see how the school could help them move out of that chronically absent category this year.

“We encouraged them: ‘You did a great job getting those kids here,’” said Assistant Principal Mary Bergeron. But then came the second part of the school’s message: “They’re not where they need to be yet.”

Chalk rhythm It is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Related:
Addressing Chronic Absenteeism with Teacher Professional Development
Reimagining Attendance: A Curricular Approach for K-12 Students and Parents
For more news on chronic absenteeism, visit eSN's Education Leadership Center