Encouraging and Foster
Good Attendance Nancy Powell
It's tough to help students
learn when they don't attend school. They not only hurt
themselves, but they can also affect the motivation of
their classmates and impair the achievement of the school
as a whole. Poor attendance is often the symptom
of another problem - family or school. So don't ignore
class absences.
I have older students fill out
an information card. For younger students, write each student's
name on an index card. Document all absences on their cards
with date, day of the week, reason for absence, and any
action that you or someone in the school took as a result
of the absence. Your documentation might be just what is
needed to turn a bad situation around.
Here are some things to consider
when working on attendance problems.
Become very familiar with
the attendance guidelines and policies of your school
and district.
Who needs to be contacted,
how soon, and how often?
What is an unexcused absence,
an excused absence, and are there other categories
of absences?
Do parents have to phone
in absences and are notes required upon a student's
arrival back to school after an absence?
Start the year by telling
students and parents that you expect students at school
on a daily basis and that you want them to enjoy
success as a result of their good attendance. Write a
letter home to parents during the first week of school
that states your willingness to work with them as a team
and that attendance is your number one priority. (Just
think of all of the makeup work that you won't have to
grade!)
Call home the first time
a student is absent to let him/her know that he/she was
missed and to let the parents know that you noticed that
their child was absent.
If you seem to see more than
an occasional absence by a student, talk to the student,
call home, look at past year's attendance records for
attendance patterns, and determine if further action
should be taken by you, your school counselor or an administrator.
Schedule a parent, student,
teacher, administrator meeting to see if there are things
that can be done to improve attendance.
Always seek the advice of the
teachers and administrators in your building. Always let
students know that they are missed when they are absent.
This tells them that you really want them in your class
on a regular basis. It fosters a positive and productive
climate in your classroom.
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