Intro: Tell us who you are, where you're from, and the name of an awesome person who makes your life better. Tag them them if they're on Twitter! Be sure to add #EDpiper to all tweet.
Good evening everyone. Dan, business teacher from St. Louis. Honestly, @sawinkeler makes my life so much better. Not sure what I'd do without her #sappytweet#edpiper
Barbara Page, third grade teacher in the BEST SCHOOL: CCE, in Hewitt. The AWESOME person who makes my life better is my forever supportive husband, Bret (but he doesn't do social media) & of course, my CCE family!! #TXed#edleadership#edpiper
Hey y’all!! Jessica, Ed Specialist at ESC Region 12 for Digital Innovation and Soc Studies...my husband makes my life better cause he does all the laundry in our household! #EDpiper
Hi, I’m Cindy Woody, #EDpiper co-moderator & True North Consulting Group Sr. Learning Consultant. Shout out to @Woody_JohnD for making my life better! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
A1: Chronically absent students often face gaps in their education that cause them personal frustration and/or can cause a misread of a possible learning difficulty. #EDpiper
A1: Some school-related challenges faced by students who are chronically absent range from academic gaps, behavioral issues (due to the learning gaps), & social isolation. #TXed#edleadership#edpiper
Intro: Tell us who you are, where you're from, and the name of an awesome person who makes your life better. Tag them them if they're on Twitter! Be sure to add #EDpiper to all tweet.
A1: I can remember coming back from being out for several weeks with pneumonia in high school. It was dreadful! I felt so lost & hopelessly behind. I had never realized how fast school moves. And I had a great support network. Lots of kids don’t. #EDpiper
A1: Catching up, not having enough tutoring hours in the week, classes who don’t post work online, & facing their major friend groups “moving on” and getting closer to new people while they are away. They come back not knowing how to catch up. #EDpiper
I think it snowballs. In college, my roommate had some setbacks and missed a lot of class. Once she started missing, it just got easier and easier not to go. I see that happening with students and families sometimes. Just one big snowball. #EDpiper
A2: In my experience the parent had poor academic performance and doesn't value or understand the impact attendance has on their Ss...the Ss then hass poor attendance and the cycle begins. #EDpiper
A2: I think it depends on the grades. In elementary, poor attendance can result in poor academics. But- when they hit middle and high school, students may skip because of their poor academics. #EDpiper
Hi! I’m Amy Penny-Lowe from Midlothian ISD. One person who makes my life better is @emaleelowe10 because she inspires me to always go for my goals with perseverance and hard work which is exactly what she does! #EDpiper
A2: I think the two can be closely correlated. If Ss are absent, grades can suffer. If grades are already poor, Ss don’t see the point of coming anyways or will miss school in order to buy extra time on assignments bc they feel behind. #EDpiper
A2. I think it’s kind of like the chicken and the egg. Doing poorly in school makes some kids want to stay home, but staying home definitely makes it harder to do well in class. Each feeds the other in a bad cycle that’s hard to break. #EDpiper
Hi! I’m Amy Penny-Lowe from Midlothian ISD. One person who makes my life better is @emaleelowe10 because she inspires me to always go for my goals with perseverance and hard work which is exactly what she does! #EDpiper
A1: students who are chronically absent I feel are always playing catch up. It makes their educational life more difficult being a step behind in the classroom discussions. They miss out on so many classroom activities. #EDpiper
A2: I believe it changes for every student- however, for the Ss that did not exhibit poor academic performance initially, the poor attendance will be the catalyst to a decrease in performance. #TXed#edpiper
A2: It is so cyclical that it is hard to tell because at the lower grades the gaps start slow but can increase quickly. Some kids don’t get caught until later. Many of our chronic absent Ss have parents who tell us they were absent a lot as kids too. #EDpiper
A2: Poor performance=poor attendance and poor attendance=poor performance. The correlation is strong either way. Here's what I know: When Ss love coming to school, attendance goes up & so does performance. ENGAGE Ss, give them reason to WANT to be there!#edpiper@desotoisdengage
Interesting. Do you think the parents see being absent a lot as “just how things are,” or do you think they are caught in tough circumstances that are just hard to break out of? #EDpiper
A2: I think these two can go hand in hand. If I look at the issue in the early grades where attendance behaviors start if the parents were not successful in school they may tend to let regular attendance slip which then leads to students falling behind #EDpiper
Just two absences a month x 9 months = less likely to graduate from high school. It’s a good thing our @Siglerstars showed up for school this week! Check out these numbers! #SiglerNation
When I read the article about snow days vs. individual absences, it made the point that schools have terrific systems in place to deal with the whole student body being absent at once, but not so much for individual absences. Made me think.... #EDpiper
A3: We tried incentives. Largely we are trying to not let them start. Once they start we immediately take action and keep track not letting attendance get too out of control. #edpiper
I can see that. When I worked with PreK parents, they tended to be very young parents who were dealing with breaking into “adulting” and parenting at the same time. It was hard! They struggled with being absent from work, too, which led to a whole set of other issues. #EDpiper
A3: I am lucky to be both and educator as well as a parent in Midlothian ISD and as a parent I receive communication from MHS principal @PrincipalGates on attendance data as well as information and tips. I believe I have received an email each week on attendance in Sept. #EDpiper
A3: We tried incentives. Largely we are trying to not let them start. Once they start we immediately take action and keep track not letting attendance get too out of control. #edpiper
A3: Our district is trying to be preventive. In our @TransformWaco schools, we have identified our chronically absent from last year and are providing them with wrap around services to try to eliminate barriers. #EDpiper
A3: I also think we need to look closely at student engagement for the classes where the absences are coming from...if kids think they are going to miss something amazing in class they are less likely to miss. #EDpiper
Q3: Sgt. Leonel Treviño Elementary tackles chronic absenteeism by offering opportunities for incentives. Students are eager to come to school because they know they will get rewarded for their learning #EDpiper
A3: We have a social worker to help families tackle the big issues that they can get to the root of. We are considering finding funds for gift cards for these families to give for improving attendance for the family so parents have more incentive. #EDpiper
One of our articles this week addressed wrap around services. Great & effective concept. It really gets down to dealing with the root causes rather than just trying to hand out and take up makeup work. #EDpiper
A3: I also think we need to look closely at student engagement for the classes where the absences are coming from...if kids think they are going to miss something amazing in class they are less likely to miss. #EDpiper
A4: Make sure Ss know that you are going to miss them or have missed them when they are out. Review lesson plans...make sure that lessons are engaging...would Ss be sad to miss? Reach out to families to see how we can help. #EDpiper
Has the staff thought of “adopting” kids who are chronically absent? I’ve seen that work well, but it has to be grassroots and not a top-down directive. #EDpiper
A3b: I agree with @Owl_b_TorresEdu about student engagement. For Talk Like a Pirate Day last week, we had awesome attendance for that day and following day because kids were excited about what was happening. #EDpiper
A4:BUILD relationships and classroom culture. Make them not want to miss class. Communicate with the Ss so they understand you NOTICE and CARE when they are gone. Contact parents if they’re out for long. #EDpiper
A4. As a teacher, I learned to have absence buddies for kids who were out. The buddy collected assignments when someone was absent & took ownership of explaining it when the absent one returned. It kept us all on track & organized. Not perfect, but a good start. #EDpiper
A4: The most important is S engagement. When Ss are learning at the highest levels with truly engaging lessons, they hate the miss. The other is making sure that the T tells the S they were missed. I love that about @ConsciousD. Making a connection, showing you care. #EDpiper
This brief is interesting...one N. Texas district uses incentives...one S. Texas district reaches out to parents to help them meet basic needs...which one makes more of an impact. #EDpiperhttps://t.co/0716KBEHUH
A4(b): #consciousdiscipline methods also encourage bldng relationships/culture by giving Ss an important classroom job they enjoy so they know their peers are relying on them (opening class with a joke, IT helper, bilingual helper, etc.) I want to try this in my room! #EDpiper
Never, ever underestimate the power of your relationship with students. Sometimes the only person who really seems to care is that one special educator who goes the extra mile for a kid. #EDpiper#BeThatOne
A4: Teachers can first increase attendance by helping Ss make connections in class. 2nd-Engage Ss in meaningful work and let them know they are happy to see them when they are there. #EDpiper
I use Class Dojo to reward them for being present in school & points add up for clasroom store,computer time,etc & just having fun with them at Leonel Treviño Elementary gets them eager to come back to school to see the friendly staff.Always get them motivated to learn! #EDpiper
For sure! Isn’t it strange how quickly the day flies by when you’re home, but every minute at school is so jam-packed and important?! I can see how kid& parents might find a few days’ worth of makeup work mind-boggling! #EDpiper
A5: Buses to pick up Ss regardless of how close or far they lived. On site medical care...nurse practitioner. Ability to offer mental health services on campus. Doctors offices open extended hours for families. I think this more of a community issue than we realize. #EDpiper
I was principal in a middle school where teachers decided to tell “worried list” kids they were “adopting” them. They strategically divided the kids & poured a ton of extra time & attention into them. Made a HUGE difference in every way. Eventually they did it for all. #EDpiper
Having those services on campus are huge. We have students who are not taking advantage of the free/reduced lunch program merely because of filling out a paper. #edpiper
A5: engagement, engagement, engagement!!!! lessons designed with student’s interests help engage students! And the best part is that engagement can be free, you just need to be creative and innovative in designing! #EDpiper
A4(c): here’s the amazing video example of jobs in the secondary classroom to make Ss feel valued. Fast fwd to 5:35 where they talk about giving jobs in the classroom. 😭🙌💙 #EDpiperhttps://t.co/ipjCe8LEix
A3: Ss who feel like they have a responsibility in their classroom, show up and perform. Give them a reason to WANT to be there! #edpiper@desotoisdengage
And not using the grade book as a weapon of mass destruction!! Let the student keep working until they have actually learned instead of giving them a day per absence to complete missed work! #EDpiper
A5: make your lessons and classroom culture current and relevant to Ss! Take time to ask about their likes/needs/wants and change your curriculum to fit THEM-not your class last year. By creating a space tailored to them, you will win them over and keep them present! #EDpiper
It’s worth asking kids why they are late or absent at times when they haven’t just arrived at school. Most kids I know already feel bad about it. Getting to root causes isn’t likely going to happen when they are lined up at a tardy window or getting an admit-slip. #EDpiper
Also- getting down to the root cause of chronic attendance is important. But- it is equally important to be prepared to address the root cause! #EDpiper
A5- Get to root of chronic absences. Create a school where kids and families feel welcome and classrooms where student feel valued and engaged. Then recognize and reinforce good attendance. #EDpiper
Hey #EDpiper friends, my friend @BowieLMC is new to Twitter & could use some followers & encouragement. He’s an AWESOME educator! I’d put him right up there with bacon!
