���Work Hacks for Beginners: Beyond Truancy

Joshua Smith

Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

Job Description

• Truant officers, who are also called attendance supervisors, truancy officers and superintendent’s designees ensure that students are attending school and intervene with students who have unexcused or excessive absences.
• Additionally, they may serve as liaisons between school officials, parents, law enforcement agencies and the court system. Other responsibilities could be determined by your district such as: data, zoning, ADM funding, custody, discipline appeals, enrollment, court appearances, truancy review board, truancy intervention class, and referral source.

What is Truancy?

• In Tennessee, a student is considered truant at five unexcused absences and may be subject to legal intervention. Each school system has the autonomy to determine what is an excused and unexcused absence.

Attendance and Record Keeping �Covid Continuation…..

• Know what your health department/school system requires for

covid absences, quarantines, and documentation. Policies continue to evolve and change.

• Know how your school system tracks virtual attendance (based on log in time, completion of work, and technology problems etc.)
• Know how your district tracks attendance for students in the Adult HS & Zero Tolerance Programs (for students who are expelled).
• What does your local judge expect this year, as far as filing truancy petitions? Be proactive in meeting with your judges, include your superintendent.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

• Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing ten percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences, suspensions and time missed due to changing schools. Based on a 180 day school year, that means a student would miss 18 days per year. 1.
• Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, chronic absenteeism became a part of district and school accountability. The measure is called the Chronically Out-of-School Indicator.

1.Source: Attendanceworks.org

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Interactive Chronic �Absenteeism Map��http://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/09/10/what-are-the-factors-that-affect-learning-at-your-school�

Why does Attendance Matter?

• Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half of the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school. 1.
• Over 8 million U.S. students miss nearly a month of school each year. 2.
• One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent. 3.
• Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of the third grade or be held back. 4.
• By 6^th grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of school. 5.
• Students who live in poverty are four times more likely to be chronically absent than others, for reasons beyond their control. 6.

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Could you answer these questions if asked by a parent?

FOR DISCUSSION

• How many absences does a student need to have in order to fail a class?
• Truancy petitions are not filed when students are passing all of their classes. True or false.
• Where do you find the attendance policy?
• What about once in a lifetime opportunity and excused absences?

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Unpacking the Reasons �Behind Chronic Absenteeism

• Chronic heath issues
• Access to needed health or dental care
• Discipline practices
• School climate, including bullying
• Access to transportation
• Homelessness
• Trauma
• Academic performance and social experiences/connectivity
• Undiagnosed disability
• Access to engaging and relevant instruction
• Access to meaningful relationships with adults
• Family members’ school experiences

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12

Important

Considerations

Incentives to Keep Students �in School

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Students

• SF1010-Drivers License
• Attendance incentives/awards
• Exempt from exams
• Earn a diploma
• Better mental/physical/social health
• Better literacy performance

School

• Graduation rates
• Chronic absenteeism numbers
• Burden on society
• Better mental/physical/social health
• Better literacy performance
• Funding
• Standardized scores

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Best Practices

• Do your research (i.e. neighborhood, family history etc.).
• Do things in teams when possible (travel log sign in/sign out).
• Leave a record of the student’s name and address before making a home visit.
• Be aware of homeschool options (independent, private, umbrella schools).
• Know of homebound procedures and attendance expectations.
• Ask for assistance from an SRO or law enforcement.
• Have a witness present when dealing with volatile parents.
• Know the court personnel and the facts they need (big picture information).
• Tracking absenteeism (i.e. running reports, truancy tab in PS).
• Be visible when meeting with students.
• Document, document, document!

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Best Practices Before Going to Court

• Make sure your attendance data is up-to-date, especially the morning of court.
• Make sure the manifestation meeting was held.
• Give the judge a 360 degree view of student (if permitted).
• A. Grades and credits
• B. Discipline
• C. Tardies and early dismissals
• D. Attendance teacher documentation
• E. Past truancy issues, family truancy issues (it’s a family problem)
• F. Unique circumstances (move around, mental health issues etc.)

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FERPA

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99.

Things Not to Do…

• Don’t use or look in a mailbox.
• Don’t give identifying information to neighbors or contacts on an emergency card.
• Don’t lose control with an irate parent.
• Don’t pick up the phone, rather let your phone go to voice mail.
• Post your dissatisfaction with school, courts, DCS, parents and etc. on social media.
• Trespass.
• Get in the middle of custody issues.

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Resources To Make the �Job Easier

• Property Assessors Website
• White Pages, Been Verified.com
• Facebook and any other type of social media
• Neighbors, friends, family etc…
• County to county, last known school
• Door hanger
• Special notebook for schools

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• Home visits, work place visits
• Relationships with doctor’s offices, housing authority
• School Counselors/Social Workers
• SRO’s
• Aunt Bertha website: findhelp.org

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�Resources to Make the Job Easier (continued) �

• Conferences
• Other Attendance Supervisors
• RUG meetings
• Working relationship with Judges, YSO’s and DCS
• Attendance Manual https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/reports/331958_membership_attendance_manual.pdf
• Attendance Supervisor notebook
• Foreign language translations

• Be familiar with your school/county attendance policy, religious holidays
• Flexibility (Last is an example!)
• Attendanceworks.org
• Good record keeping (do you depend on your schools for information or do you run your reports?)
• Stay on top of no shows and drop outs so they are easier to track down

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Attendance and Record Keeping�How can we help each other?

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• The unknowns…… How this is going to look next year????
• Things to consider: Know how our district tracks attendance for students in the hybrid/virtual school (if this happens again) and quarantining etc. How we were keeping attendance has drastically changed over the past two-three years.
• Do you have a virtual/digital school or special school for students who are disciplined? Do you know about AGE? Adult High School?
• From a legal standpoint, we swear in court that our documentation is accurate. Is it really?
• Parents getting absenteeism phone calls and their child is actually in school.
• Turn in student notes if you have them (or have the student run them to the front office).
• When parents email about attendance, please let your attendance person know. Go one step further about vacations and turning in notes.

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Using Your Resources to Improve Attendance

• Great ideas from other districts (door hangers)
• Court Liaison designated to improve relationships with Juvenile Judges/Personnel
• Attendance Supervisors attend Parent Teacher Conference, Open Houses, Back to School Bash, Night of the Arts, and Fall Festivals
• Student Services created table top display boards with posters to take to special events.
• Schools take advantage of Parent Square

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Door Hangers for Home Visits

Table Displays for School Events

Opportunities to Use Parent Square

Using Parent Square to Turn in Notes

RUG �Representation

Questions ?

Please feel free to email

joshua.smith@cmcss.net

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