Keep Up the Routine of Attendance This Year!
Attendance Works has developed messaging and letters for school leaders hoping to encourage good attendance around the winter holidays. During this holiday season, please make time to offer empathy and support to students and families. Be sure to emphasize the lifelong value of daily attendance for well-being, learning and achievement.
Send a letter out before Thanksgiving and again in the weeks before the longer winter break urging students and families to avoid absences.
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Thanksgiving-themed letter in English and Spanish
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Winter break holidays letter in English and Spanish
- Let them know the date when school will resume
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OSPI T.A.L.K.S Series: Tues., Nov. 19, 12 - 1 PM
The Truancy & Attendance Learning and Knowledge Sharing series is for District Attendance and Truancy Liaisons.
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This is an opportunity for anyone seeking guidance on attendance-related questions
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First Approach Skills Training (FAST) programs provide evidence-based behavioral therapy for youth & families with common mental concerns. This webinar is intended for parents/caregivers and/or school based mental health providers. |
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Give your team a boost by using our updated Teaming on Attendance Agenda & Checklist!
This agenda will help improve your team's efficiency by clearly defining roles and responsibilities, ensuring productive time use, and making data-driven decisions to improve student attendance rates.
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Steps for Better Teaming:
- Team lead will send calendar invite to members before the team meeting.
- Data champion will gather tier 1 data in advance of the meeting, to be shared before or during meeting.
- Team lead will use the established agenda template during the team meeting.
- At the end of the meeting, team completes the meeting checklist. Team members will rate satisfaction with meeting.
This resource is brought to you by the incredible ESD Attendance Coordinator team at ESD 101, 113 and 123!
Can a student’s grade be reduced due to lack of attendance?
According to WAC 392-400-115, a school district may not:
- Suspend the provision of educational services to a student in response to behavioral violations; or
- Administer discipline in a manner that would prevent a student from completing subject, grade-level, or graduation requirements.
OSPI interprets policies and practices that reduce points or withhold credit in response to absences (e.g. after 10 days of absences, excused or unexcused) to be disciplinary responses to the behavior of nonattendance, and therefore these practices are in conflict with RCW 28A.600.030 and WAC 392-400-115(2) as outlined above.
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OSPI needs your input to provide better support to school districts to run Community Engagement Boards (CEBs).
Estimated completion time: 2-6 minutes
Deadline: December 20th, 2024
Who should take the survey: District Truancy Liaisons, ESD staff supporting Attendance, Truancy and Reengagement, and Court Partners involved in truancy.
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2023-24 School Quality and Student Success (SQSS) Measures
The SQSS district preview workbook has been updated for the 2023-24 school year and is available from November 18, 2024, through December 9, 2024:
What do I need to do?
Districts should review their SQSS, and revise CEDARS submissions if necessary, by December 9, 2024.
If you do not have access to the Tableau Server application in EDS, please contact your District Data Security Manager and request the Tableau SecureDataPortal-Student Interactor or Tableau SecureDataPortal-Student Detail Interactor user role.
Resources
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The PSESD Strategy, Evaluation, and Learning Team conducted an evaluation of the ESSER Attendance and Reengagement Project. This evaluation highlights how the project served, supported, and re-engaged students with high rates of absences and disengagement.
You can now read detailed case studies from five school districts and STEC Schools on the PSESD StEL webpage, showcasing the challenges and successes experienced by project participants.
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District Truancy Liaisons from across the state showed up in a big way at this year’s Becca Conference on November 7-8!
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Rebekah Lawson and Chauncey Jones from Spokane Public Schools provided the opening keynote, sharing the changes they’ve implemented in the last two years to support their district’s 57 schools with following the Becca Law.
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Jabez Harlan shared his two-year journey supporting East Valley School District with increasing student attendance through establishing district and school-level teams – they saw a 12-point increase in Regular Attendance (attending 90% or more days) district-wide between 2022-23 and 2023-24.
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Ambra Bryant walked folks through the Tier 3 processes and interventions College Place School District has put in place to support students with the highest rates of absences, sharing templates and outlines for others to draw from.
Thank you all for the amazing work you are doing to engage students across our state, and for taking the time to share it at the Becca Conference!
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The OSPI Attendance Team is eager to hear about your attendance initiatives this school year. We know that schools and districts are doing great work to improve attendance and build effective systems, and we want to highlight your efforts.
Please email your attendance highlights to the OSPI Attendance inbox at Attendance@k12.wa.us.
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Please consider sharing this the OSPI Attendance Newsletter with school staff to ensure everyone is informed about the importance of attendance. These newsletters can help foster a unified approach, highlight success stories, and provide actionable insights to reduce absenteeism.
Key positions that should be connected to attendance newsletters include:
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- Principals and Vice Principals
- Teachers
- School Counselors
- School Nurses
- Attendance Clerks/Secretaries
- Interventionists Staff
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OSPI Attendance Team has a new voicemail to answer your attendance questions.
Please reach out to the OSPI Attendance Team by dialing 360-725-4957. Leave a voicemail with your name, email address, and inquiry. A team member will follow up with you within two business days.
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