Structuring a Detailed School Plan for Absenteeism, Truancy, and Dropout Prevention

The focus of this book/guide is to provide recommendations to Alternative, Middle, Elementary, and High School staff for structuring a detailed plan to manage school absenteeism. Schools must have a clear goal, complete with names, responsibilities, time frames, proof of completion, and resources to be effective. Early intervention is the key to identifying truant students and getting results, and this guidebook provides the structure for staff to implement such a plan and initiate early intervention. Throughout this guide, I will use the term "truancy" and "absenteeism" interchangeably, recognizing that truancy is a legal issue. At the same time, students miss school for other reasons (with or without their parents' consent). As all school professionals know, students who are not on campus cannot learn, and the more they miss, the greater their chances are of becoming dropouts, thus affecting their entire life experience.

Many campus personnel who are assigned the responsibility of students' data and attendance are not trained adequately. They lack knowledge of local board policy, state attendance laws, proper use of data codes, withdrawal codes, printing attendance reports, contacting parents, setting up meetings, and seeking legal intervention. Is there a user-friendly resource attendance manual that is ready for campus personnel who need technical support? Is there a campus plan with a checklist available for campus staff attendance responsibilities, time frames, resources required, and evidence of completion? These things need to be in place to identify truant students and provide early intervention quickly.

This practical guidebook is written for attendance professionals new to truancy, tenure professionals, clerks, outreach workers, social workers, and others responsible for working with students and their excessive absences. It is a straightforward guide for preparing anyone to deal with truant students and their families. Part One discusses the causes of truancy, while Part Two provides detailed strategies for managing school attendance. It can be used as a presentation for training attendance professionals, staff members new to truancy, and specifically for those responsible for students in their district. In addition, it can be used as a refresher workshop annually. This guidebook is designed to will help reduce the dropout rate and increase attendance in schools.