Attendance Policy in an Alternative School

Program Attendance Policy Proposal and Analysis

As we are nearing the end of the third school year of the P.A.S.S. program it is beneficial to evaluate the standards and practices which have been set forth through the past three years and determine the efficacy of them. In accordance with the Pennsylvania Standards for Elementary and secondary education school principals (January 2001), data driven assessment of the policies is due. The need for implementation of best practices, be they new or accepted older models is especially great given the proven success of the P.A.S.S. program which has resulted in the proposal for expansion of enrolment and services to meet a greater demand within the local district.

The establishment of best practices for the future is the goal of the current assessment. Since its inception the P.A.S.S. program has used a program completion option strategy with at-risk students attending classes at Howell School. Students completed courses and received credit for those courses upon completion without punitive consequences regarding attendance. Due to the nature of the challenges of at-risk students P.A.S.S. has attempted to maintain flexibility with regards to the demands and limitations placed on students. Focusing more on completion of coarse work and less on a punitive response to poor attendance, credit was not denied due to excessive student absences, P.A.S.S. has attempted to model team building through cultivating a school culture that above all promotes learning for the at-risk student. (PA Standards 2001)

The ability for alternative schools to establish and implement policies on attendance and other behavioral issues differing from state and local guidelines is addressed in district attendance policies as per N.J.A.C. 6:8-7.1(d) 2 which contains language that allows some discretion upon the part of the institution to tailor the attendance policy to the needs of the particular course work and student population as per the local district's identification of a need for differentiation within a program.

District guidelines recognize attendance as a crucial issue for the development of best practices in alternative education.

In the development of a new school there are many inherent conflicts, concerns and opportunities. In the following quote many of those issues are addressed and the are also a fitting start for this analysis as it covers many of the diverse reasons for data driven and best practice assessments.

Graham describes many of the practical problems in starting a new school, such as construction and enlisting personnel. But her highest priority is meeting the five needs of the students: to belong, to be secure, to have power, to have freedom, and to have fun (other schools have typically fallen short in meeting the last three). The school combines both the "hard" approaches to education (testing, teacher assessment) and the "soft" approaches (creating a caring environment, treating students as family). Last, she describes the human conflicts that had to be addressed: resolving disagreements within the board of directors, obtaining parental involvement, appropriate discipline for students, and being accountable to the community. (Hakim, Ryan & Stull, 2000, p. 14)

District directives have been offered for guidance in the goal of assessing the needs for policy change continually within the alternative education setting.

Attendance is a crucial element in alternative education programs, and must be addresses thoroughly during program development. Consequently, districts will have to examine the effects of their current attendance policies on at-risk students. Then they must consider the need to modify those policies based on information obtained. (Phillipsburg District Alternative School Directives 1999)

Additionally the directives make clear that any change must consider both the special needs of the student population in the program and the traditional state attendance restrictions.

Districts are encouraged to develop attendance policies for alternative education programs that clearly reflect the needs of the students while complying with state attendance requirements and to assess, on a continual basis, the appropriateness of those policies for at-risk students in their districts. In addition, attendance policies should reflect the general philosophy of the alternative education program and support the overall purpose, goals, and objectives of that program. (Phillipsburg District Alternative School Directives 1999)

The program completion option, which is based on proficiency, rather than attendance is a part of the accepted standards and practices set forth by the district and is especially appropriate for the needs of at-risk students. Recognizing the roles of students, parents, teachers and administrators as team members, students who experienced difficulties with school attendance have been individually addressed using attendance letters, parent conferences; 5-day notices, court action, and a privilege denial form of behavior modification had been implemented.

Average daily attendance for the past three years has maintained a steady 80%-85% from month to month. Yet, the recognized correlation between grade point average, credits earned, and in behavioral measures such as attendance, suspensions, and related misconduct has led the program to set a higher attendance goal. The desired outcome of the P.A.S.S. Program Attendance Policy is to increase the average daily attendance to 90% with the intended goal being a marked increase of student performance based on greater completion rates, higher grade point averages and an overall more effective learning environment.

The difference between 85% and 90% attendance can easily make the difference between success and failure in a student's academic career. As pointed out in a condensed article published by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (2002) "Missing 30 hours of instruction impacts a student's academic performance. A Minneapolis study in 2000 found that students who were in class 95% of the time were twice as likely to P.A.S.S. state language-arts tests as students with attendance rates of 85%." (NAESP 2002)

Keeping in mind the special needs of at-risk students as per the PA standard I.B. And I.C. this assessment and proposal will attempt to establish a collaborative plan of action between current overall district attendance policy for the high school level and the special needs of the student body. The guide listed N.J.A.C. 6:19 A-1.4, requires the maintenance of a program completion option, which requires any results of this assessment and proposal must allow program completion as the primary factor for the successful completion of the program. A secondary goal meeting PA Standard I.C. And I.F. Of a collaborative effort between the team members of the decision making body including; students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board and community members.

Review of literature:

review of current research and literature as per PA Standards I.I. performance-based use of current research and best practices on the subject of alternative school participation and attendance will address the issue of both proposed and established best practices for both the nation and also the local district and schools. Regional differences do exist, yet meeting the needs of students at high risk for non-completion is a universal problem the consideration of which is consistent with the goals of the P.A.S.S. program and its governing community.

Alternative schools for the education of at risk students have been in existence for just over thirty years and replaced older less productive penal institutions. Hefner-Packer (1991) define alternative as separate schools, which focus on non-traditional models and strategies that help, promote learning and social responsibility. The student body of alternative schools is often comprised of students who have had chronic difficulties either with behavior or academic deficiency in traditional schools and are better served by a more personalized institution and/or program. (Hefner-Packer 1991)

It is often the very students with the greatest needs that are those exhibiting chronic truancy. Speaking of elementary aged students, "At every school, however, are students who are regularly absent. Says Murray: "One concern we have with attendance is that it seems that those who are absent frequently are those who cannot afford to miss school. When that happens, we have to do a great deal of remediation." (National Association of Elementary School Principals 2002)

One of the traditional ways in which a student is referred or recommended for attendance of an alternative school is associated with poor attendance resulting in poor academic achievement which can accumulate into a decreases level of self-esteem and general behavioral deficiencies that are disruptive to a traditional school classroom. So, often times those students mentioned above have garnered their referral to alternative education from a domino effect that could have had its roots in early poor attendance.

Some of the possible negative outcomes of poor school attendance are recorded in an ERIC digest (1997) article "...examines some of the ways that truancy affects both individuals and society. It identifies factors that may place students at greater risk of becoming truant and lists some consequences of nonattendance, including delayed promotion and graduation, lowered self-esteem, and lessened employment potential." (ERIC 1997) In another source criminality was linked directly to school truancy. "The Los Angeles County Office of Education identifies truancy as the most powerful predictor of delinquency. Police departments across the nation report that many students not in school during regular hours are committing crimes, including vandalism, shoplifting, and graffiti. When Van Nuys, California, officials conducted a three-week sweep for truants on the streets, shoplifting arrests dropped by 60%." (Garry 1996).

For these and other reasons it is accepted that the standards and practices of the alternative school institution must offer a more flexible and/or more non-traditional set of standards. These standards must promote growth in the learning environment rather than the re-institutionalization of earlier penal style standards and codes that failed to meet the emotional or educational needs of special needs students. Of course directed consideration of safety within the school setting is also important a prison like inflexibility does not serve the needs of student, staff or community and in fact directly contradicts the goals of the P.A.S.S. program.

School administrators are in a position to see firsthand the impact of truancy on students. Most school administrators, however, attempt to change truant behavior through punishment, in particular by suspending children from school (Illinois Task Force, 1980). Although it is difficult to gauge the psychological and educational damage incurred by suspending children from school, it is clear that suspension inhibits children's development (Garibaldi, 1979). (Miller, 1986, p. 49)

Yet another work calls question to the use of suspension and expulsion as a deterrent for an at-risk student, and especially a student who no longer enjoys the learning environment.

Does it make any sense to use expulsion from school as punishment for a student who no longer enjoys school and academic learning? Expulsion from school for this type of student may be an asset to the teacher, but it does not help the student. It only supports the student in getting further behind in coursework, which adds to the long-term problem. As D.J. stated, being expelled was like a vacation. And Iesha could not wait to get back to school to "finish the fight." (Kennedy & Morton, 1999, p. 65)

Promoting the stark difference between the alternative school setting and the standardized and inflexible policies of the traditional school setting is often the one of the most effective tools for the retention and success of the special needs student body. When students feel that they are cared for and that the individual and often demanding circumstances of their lives are considered when decisions about their future are made they feel more able to respond to and achieve success with in the academic demands of their education.

Reviewing the standards and practices of other similar institutions and even an occasional proposal for change will assist the P.A.S.S. team in the determination of the adoption of new standards and practices for the changes in the P.A.S.S. program attendance policy. The Linn-Benton Education Service District and ERIC collaborated to produce At Risk Youth in Crisis: A Handbook for Collaboration Between Schools and Social Services. Within this extensively data driven and useful text is a large work, which focuses on attendance services. (ERIC & LBESD 1992)

Volume 5: Attendance Services, addresses everything form the reasons for student absenteeism to some creative and helpful solutions for procedure development and implementation. (1992) Though this work focuses mainly upon the abilities of students and faculty to cope with the retention of at risk students in a traditional school setting there is some focus given to the alternative school model.

As P.A.S.S. is an independent school facility, beginning with the information about procedure development in a traditional setting is called for. The P.A.S.S. team attendance policy committee, once established must give equal regard to the best practices of the traditional models of attendance policy as it gives to the alternative models as the ultimate goal of the institution is to increase student success. "Student absenteeism is a shared responsibility and its impact is felt by all. Most problems of attendance are related to a combination of problems associated with the student, home, school, and community." (ERIC & LBESD 1992)

As the reasons for truancy are diverse so the solutions must also be. "...Improving attendance demands viewing absenteeism as involving the interactional relationship and interrelatedness of each of the determinants rather than viewing it as the result of a simple causal problem." (ERIC & LBESD 1992) Many traditional models for viewing school issues seem outmoded the issue of chronic absenteeism are no different.

The traditional view that proposes a linear cause of chronic absenteeism assumes that something [is] wrong in one area -- such as a student, school, community-causes the truancy problem. Instead we must use an ecological perspective that emphasizes the reciprocal nature of the relationships between the student, family, school and community. Only then will out interventions be effective. (ERIC & LBESD 1992)

With the P.A.S.S. goals of inclusion, also set forth by the PA standards a nonlinear model of understanding fits best within the framework of changing the practices through a collaborative and representative committee that includes all parties of the ecological model above.

Through the assessment of best practices using data driven procedures and plans the issues surrounding the goal of the increase of the average daily attendance at P.A.S.S. from 80-85% to 90% will be met. The Assessment Committee/s will be provided with current literature on the subject as well as correlation data from within the P.A.S.S. system to help guide the decision making of the school on policy planning and implementation that will further grow the strength and learning community of the P.A.S.S. alternative school.

Instruments and Procedures

The development of a sound and collaborative policy committee is the first responsibility of the P.A.S.S. program. Much of the work of forming such a committee will be done through the same means as those used to develop the Planning and Needs Assessment Committee to evaluate and implement best practices for the expansion of enrollment in the P.A.S.S. program. The committee will comprise the some if not all of the same members associated with said committee and will include staff at P.A.S.S., student representatives, parents, members from Phillipsburg High School guidance, a member from central administration, and a member of the Phillipsburg Board of Education.

Once the establishment of the committee has taken place research shall begin that will address specific issues of past policy and desired changes. There will be student input, teaching input and parent input on three questioners to be administered and correlated by the staff at P.A.S.S. The initial survey will be offered to the teaching staff it will read as follows:

Review our current credit restorative practices for those students who have amassed more than 7 cumulative absences in respective academic areas. Teachers submit a form; I then meet with students and assign credit restorative practices, whether that is pre-session, red level, signed homework, or removal from work-study. Teachers then should remit the forms after the student has completed the credit restorative practice to the student file, as this becomes a part of the student's Individual Program Plan. Should this change in any way?

List other potential credit restorative practices i.e. signed homework forms, progress reports, etc.

Should 7 cumulative absences continue to be the number used to implement credit restoration?

Is a schedule change needed for next year? If so, adopt the attached schedule or create another proposal.

Define cumulative absence similar to the high school or should we have another component? (See second attachment Xeroxed from the high school student handbook.) What about an appeal process?

Methods by which teachers will track classroom absences. (EasyGradePro, Filemaker, Pentamation in the Main Office)

Mandatory parent/teacher/counselor meetings for students with excessive absences and how we might implement them as a deterrent to student absences.

In addition to this survey one will also be provided students who have in the past or whop are presently participating in credit restorative processes. The student survey will be designed to help students identify in a correlational way the reasons for their absences and the ways they feel they might be able to avoid them in the future. It will also ask the student if he or she believes the absences to have affected their ability to stay current in their coarse work and if they believe that they are presently or were presently receiving a passing grade before during and after his/her episode of 7 or more cumulative absences. These statistics will then be compared to actual grades and/or course progress reports whenever possible.

Following the teacher and student surveys will be a letter to the parent of the students who have been referred to the Credit Restoration Program. The letter will contain a survey that will include questions that address the parent's understandings of the possible reasons the student was absent 7 times cumulatively. The survey will also ask for solution proposals from parent addressing, what they think they, the student and/or the school might do in the future to assist his or her child to achieve success in an attempt to catch-up from the absences and to avoid future occurrences of frequent absences.

It is clear that one way that a school can improve the average daily attendance is through the implementation of an informational campaign that more clearly outlines the effects of poor attendance upon the whole learning community. From the very personal aspect of loss of academic abilities to the very broad including but not limited to the budget concerns associated with attendance-based funding and/or poor academic showing on standardized test that help satisfy state and national goals for education and also have funding implications. Though a much more personalized example, this type of planning falls under the I.F PA Standard set, in regards to school promotion.

Analysis and Discussion of Data

Analyzing the data from the beginning of the assessment process the results of the teacher survey have been compiled and are as follows:

Results of a staff survey:

Question 1: Review our current credit restorative practices for those students who have amassed more than 7 cumulative absences in respective academic areas. Teachers submit a form; I then meet with students and assign credit restorative practices, whether that is pre-session, red level, signed homework, or removal from work-study. Teachers then should remit the forms after the student has completed the credit restorative practice to the student file, as this becomes a part of the student's Individual Program Plan. Should this change in any way?

Response: 100% of staff answered - no need to change, but staff also expressed concern about excessive tardy and the need for intervention on the matter. The responders suggested that tardiness could be included within the attendance policy and suggested the - 3 tardy should be equivalent to 1 cumulative absence

Question 2: List other potential credit restorative practices i.e. signed homework forms, progress reports, etc.

Response: The teachers responded with several suggestions: Parent phone calls from teachers, attendance contracts, written communication with parents (requiring returned signatures), homework forms to be filled out by a parent.

Question 3: Should 7 cumulative absences continue to be the number used to implement credit restoration?

Response: 50% of teachers said that the number should be flexible, and be dependant upon the circumstances of each individual student and the absences, 25% said the number should stay at 7, and 25% said that it should be increased to 10.

Question 4: Is a schedule change needed for next year? If so, adopt the attached schedule or create another proposal.

Response: 60% of staff said yes, 40% said no see appendix for complete results

Question 5: Shall we continue to define cumulative absence as similar to the high school or should we have another component? (See second attachment Xeroxed from the high school student handbook.) What about an appeal process?

Response: The staff was satisfied with the high school policy definition of cumulative absences. The appeal process seemed to be popular among staff- 90% wanted to institute an appeal process or were interested in learning more about the process and what kind of results it has had in other places.

Question 6: Methods by which teachers will track classroom absences. (EasyGradePro, Filemaker, Pentamation in the Main Office)

Response: EasyGradePro - our schools computer program will be used as a tool to keep track of the absences.

Question 7: Mandatory parent/teacher/counselor meetings for students with excessive absences and how we might implement them as a deterrent to student absences.

Response: Guidance/social worker conferences, include all possible resources to get students to school.

It is clear from the analysis of the needs assessment that that the attendance reports suggests a great need for improvement. The suggestions that are being proposed as the new P.A.S.S. Attendance Policy will be detailed within the next section of this work. The needs assessment showed that we are not currently meeting our goals for attendance of 90% for this school year. The average daily attendance is now is at 80%. The development of this attendance policy will hopefully increase the attendance of our students to the 90% goal.

In addition to the implementation of the proposed policy a special regard for the continued non-policy interventions both within the classroom and without it. Within the 1997 ERIC digest on preventing truancy can be found an extensive list of possible environmental solutions to the excessive attendance problem, beginning with the following description of a well-attended classroom setting.

In general, schools with low truancy do not experience disruption or violence. Their teachers arrive on time, have low absentee rates, and are committed to remaining at the school. They give frequent praise, interact with the entire class, and use open-ended questions. They minimize corporal punishment, verbal reprimands, and competition (Rohrman, 1993). To encourage student attachment to the school, teachers, and classmates, and to promote personalized attention from teachers, some schools keep classes together for several grades (Haslinger, Kelly, & O'Lare, 1996). (ERIC 1997-page 2)

In addition to these strategies, the ERIC digest suggests that every school should use the following guidelines to increase attendance and in general improve the culture of the school.

1. Analyze attendance patterns: Knowing who is absent and when they are absent can help structure your intervention strategy.

2. Review attendance policies: Make sure your policy reflects the school's goals. Solicit the input of students, parents, teachers, and community members.

3. Consistently enforce: Nothing erodes an attendance policy's effectiveness more than inconsistent enforcement.

4. Communicate: Share the school's attendance policy with parents, teachers, and community members. The more people know, the more they can help.

5. After completing these steps, schools can implement specific strategies.

Ideas gathered from sources around the country include:

6. Reach out to parents. Explain not only the policies and the consequences; also explain how missing school impacts children's learning.

7. Use automated phone calls. Many schools have systems that automatically call the homes of students who are absent.

8. Assign student or teacher mentors. For chronically absent students, having a mentor could be enough incentive to attend school.

9. Team up with law enforcement and businesses. With their support, children who should be in school will be in school.

10. Hold special activities on Mondays and Fridays. These are typically the days with the highest absenteeism. Planning special events for these days could improve attendance.

11. Review student attendance each year prior to the opening of school.

Getting an early start on those students who had attendance problems the previous year may prove invaluable.

11. Utilize a home/school coordinator. Unfortunately, not all schools can afford a staff member to help out with attendance. But one-on-one contact is one of the best ways to ensure that children attend school.

12. Give special jobs. Pennsylvania principal Bonni Kuner-Roth's school invites students or pairs of students to perform school service jobs, such as collecting the attendance folders, leading the Pledge of Allegiance, or raising the flag. "This seems to encourage their prompt arrival at school every day," she says.

13. Provide counseling services. Sometimes children need a person they can talk to about what's happening at home.

14. Model the behavior. Hold yourself and school staff to attendance criteria similar to that of students.

15. Give them what they need. Students can't get up in the morning? Hand out alarm clocks. Do they have trouble getting to school? Work on alternative transportation.

16. With an increased focus on student achievement, schools must ensure students attend school as much as possible. By using some of these strategies, and by working with students, teachers, parents, and community members, it is possible to keep attendance rates high and students learning. (ERIC 2001)

Additionally there are many other resources available to institutions for the development of policies and procedures that assist staff and students in their attempts to increase the average daily attendance, improve the school culture and improve academic achievements, while avoiding problem behaviors within their communities.

In the 1996 Manual to Combat Truancy, developed by the U.S. Department of Education and in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice are several successful examples form all over the nation where new policies and procedures achieved positive attendance and community results.

Some of the examples include non-policy or non-punitive examples and some contain punitive examples while still others contain both. Regardless of the policies that were implemented the positive results indicate that all the efforts and communication involved in eliciting changes, sometimes even in resistant populations, were very much worth the effort. In addition it offers many solutions that if found appropriate for the P.A.S.S. Program can be implemented with all the necessary collaborative and communicative directives that help build a team that supports and surrounds our school. Though these examples often contain city wide and traditional school examples the information within them may assist the P.A.S.S. Program and the Assessment Committee in beginning possible collaborative efforts that will effect not only our program but the entire school district and community.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Program elements: Parents, police, and the school system focus on the causes of truancy in the Truancy Abatement and Burglary Suppression (TABS) initiative in Milwaukee. Attendance is taken every period in all high schools. Local police officers pi ck up truant students and bring them to a Boys and Girls Club for counseling. Parents are called at home automatically every night if their child did not attend school that day. If the parent is not supportive of regular school attendance, then the district attorney is contacted.

Results: In a recent sample of students who went through the TABS process, 73% returned to school the next day, 66% remained in school on the 15th day, and 64% still are in school 30 days later. Since the TABS initiative began, daytime burglary in Milwaukee has decreased 33%, and daytime aggravated battery has decreased 29%. Aquine Jackson, Director of the Parent and Student Services Division of the Milwaukee Public Schools, says, "I think the TABS program is so effective because it is a collaboration among...the Milwaukee Public Schools, the Milwaukee Boys and Girls Clubs, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the County Sheriff, and because it is now a part of state statute that police officers can stop students on the street during school hours. www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/" (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

The Milwaukee example shows a clear collaborative effort within a community to combat both the problem of low attendance and the results it can have upon the surrounding community. Through programs like this the student body and their families can be shown clear and swift consequences for poor decision- making. With clear and visible results the community has also seen a marked change in the problems that have historically been the result of poor student attendance.

Rohnert Park, California

Program elements: The Stop, Cite and Return Program is designed to reduce truancy and juvenile crime in the community and to increase average daily attendance for the schools. Patrol officers issue citations to suspected truants contacted during school hours, and students are returned to school to meet with their parents and a vice principal. Two citations are issued without penalty; the third citation results in referral to appropriate support services.

Results: Due in large part to this initiative, the daytime burglary rate is 75% below what it was in 1979. Haynes Hunter, who has worked in different capacities on the issue of truancy in Rohnert Park for over 15 years, says the program is effective because it is a "high visibility" effort. "Being on the street, being in contact with the kids makes them aware of the fact that we care. We want them to get their education." (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

Once again, the Rohnert Park programs address the students directly as they commit acts that concern the community. Knowing that there may be some severe results from a simple encounter with police officers during school hours seems to make a simple act of loitering or even hanging out at the mall a decision that must be much more closely considered and an act of petty crime holds a weightier response as well. In the event that a petty crime is committed the consequences include cooperative responses that include not only law enforcement, the judicial system and parents but will likely also include school officials, who may have a much more direct effect upon future success. In addition these programs also offer warning to students so they may have the opportunity to correct behavior before it truly affects their success.

New Haven, Connecticut

Program elements: The Stay in School Program targets middle school students who have just begun to have problems. Targeted students go to truancy court, at which a panel of high school students question them and try to identify solutions. After court, youth and attorney mentors are assigned to each student for support. The student and the court sign a written agreement, and after two months, students return to the court to review their contract and report on their progress.

Results: Denise Keyes Page, who recruits and trains mentors for this initiative, says "This program works because it harnesses the power of peer pressure. Truants are judged and mentored by their peers, instead of just by adults who may seem dist ant and unconnected. Our program uses both the carrot and stick approaches, providing both supportive mentorship and real courtroom accountability to truant students. One of the evolving strengths of the program is that not only are we providing support to the truant, but we are serving as a resource to their parents." (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

The New Haven Connecticut program implements peer involvement. This sort of involvement has shown successful on many levels and may be a consideration that would greatly assist the P.A.S.S. Program and its students better resolve issues of truancy. The success of this system lends credibility to the inclusion of peer involvement in the appeals process as a suggestion that may prove helpful. Programs such as like the New Haven one, implemented at the middle school level may help prevent the referral of students to programs such as the P.A.S.S. program in the first place which is always a good community benefit, but the techniques could still be used at later ages.

Atlantic County, New Jersey

Program elements: The Atlantic County Project Helping Hand receives referrals from six Atlantic City and four Pleasantville elementary schools for youth in K. through eighth grades who have five to 15 days of unexcused absences. A truancy worker meets with the youth and family to provide short-term family counseling, usually up to eight sessions. Referrals for additional social services are made on an as needed basis. If the family fails to keep appointments, home visits are made to encourage cooperation. Once a truancy problem is corrected, the case is closed and placed on an aftercare/monitoring status with contact made at 30, 60, and 90-day intervals to ensure that truancy does not persist.

Results: During the past school year, 84% of the students who participated in the Atlantic County program had no recurrence of truancy. Colleen Denelsback of project Helping Hand says that "our philosophy is one of early intervention, both at the age level and the number of unexcused absences. We stress that the earlier intervention takes place, the greater the chance for positive outcomes. Early intervention will prevent truancy and later delinquency." (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

Once again the Atlantic City program stresses early intervention but the follow up program offers an additional point of advice that could greatly improve recidivism rates of chronically truant students either within P.A.S.S. Or as members of other school-based local programs that attempt to intervene in problems before they become large enough to warrant a full referral to P.A.S.S. Or other interventions.

Norfolk, Virginia

Program elements: The Norfolk, Virginia school district uses software to collect data on students who are tardy, cut class, leave grounds without permission, are truant but brought back to school by police, or are absent without cause. Each school has a team composed of teachers, parents, and school staff that examines the data to analyze truancy trends. For example, a team may try to pinpoint particular locations where truant students are found during school hours and then place additional monitors in these locations. A team may also notice certain months when truancy is prevalent and then design special programs to curb truancy during those months.

Results: Ann Hall of the Norfolk Public Schools says, "Attendance has improved at all levels of schools since 1992 - two percent at the elementary and secondary levels. The overall district average is up one percent. This is significant in that leg al attendance is at the 93rd percentile. Tighter attendance policies, grading practices, and teamwork have lead to this improvement...There are few, if any, teachers complaining that discipline and law violations are not being handled consistently through out the district. This is a marked improvement over the report that was made in the teacher satisfaction survey conducted in 1988." (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

In Norfolk the teachers and administrators are producing data driven results that have obviously significantly improved conditions both within their schools but also within the community. Addressing the problem through observational analysis the team can pay special attention to places and times that show the most marked truant behavior. Using this advice P.A.S.S. could possibly implement rewards programs and special events that might help bring students to school on particularly common days of absence, such as Mondays Fridays or even good weather days that often make it hard for anyone to apply themselves to work. On such days P.A.S.S. might implement outside lectures or even short outings that would not require parent permission and would include creative learning situations.

Marion, Ohio

Program elements: The Community Service Early Intervention Program focuses on potential truants during freshman year. Referred students are required to attend tutoring sessions as directed, give their time to community service projects, and participate in a counseling program. In addition, students are required to give back to the Intervention initiative by sharing what they have learned with new students in the program and by recommending others who might benefit. Parental participation is required throughout the program. Upon completion of the six-week sequence, school records relative to truancy are nullified. If the student fails the program, formal court intervention is the next step.

Results: Of the 28 students who took part in the program this semester, 20 have improved attendance records and will pass freshman year. The eight who did not improve their attendance records either moved from the school district or were removed from the school for failure to meet attendance requirements. Misty Swanger, Community Educator for this initiative, saw a general improvement in the grades and behavior of the students. Executive Director Christine Haas says, "This program is a combination of early intervention and early attention. As long as the child knows that someone is watching out for them and taking an interest in them, they will not be truant. The attention factor is very important. It creates success." The intervention program h as already identified 100 ninth grade students with truancy problems to work with in the coming year. (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

The Marion example bolsters the idea of the successful use of a from of Credit Restoration Program. In this example the committee may notice several important and functional ways in which out credit restoration system might be improved upon in a creative manner. Some ideas might be including credit restoration times that would develop volunteerism and/or community action events. The events could be planned in advance and include a group event that might again help give opportunities for creative learning and growth of the school culture.

Bakersfield, California

Program elements: A consortium of school districts in Kern County, California has formed the Truancy Reduction Program. Local schools reach out to youth with a history of truancy through parent contact, peer tutoring, and mentoring services. Persistently truant youth are referred to the County Probation Office. Probation officers visit parents at home one-on-one, check on the youth at school weekly, and in the majority of cases refer youth and their families to one or more needed social service agencies. The County Probation Office and local school continue to track the youth for a full year before making referral to the local District Attorney's Office.

Results: "The majority of graduates of the Truancy Reduction Program's first year no longer present a truancy problem," according to the Kern County Public Schools Coordinator, Steve Hageman. Over a fifth of that 1994 class had perfect school attendance records in the year following their participation. www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/" (USDE Website: (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/)

The Bakersfield program once again reiterates the purpose of both collaboration for the determination of best practices and for the enforcement of them. In the Bakersfield example helpful intervention is stressed and students get assistance that they may have not had the opportunity to get in any other way. As truancy is often one of the first symptoms of student troubles on other levels this interactive and collaborative approach may once again help parents and communities assess the needs and keep an eye on students who could become or are at risk for failure.

The real life examples of implemented best practices in the examples from the U.S. Department of education may not necessarily directly relate to the development of attendance policies yet the information they contain is priceless to the committee as it begins the process of the implementation of change. Above all else the ideas contained in these examples relate to students who need help and guidance from the whole community and are receiving it. Ideas such as these can be a major source of both hope for success as a result of change, not always an easy thing to accept and inspiration for how to build and implement the development of the policies proposed and those, which may be offered as options in the future.