Leveraging Attendance for Equitable Outcomes—Tools for the Local Control and Accountability Plan in California
Why are chronic absence and attendance such critical accountability measures?
Chronic absence—at any age—is one of the best early warning indicators that a student is at risk academically. In California, the Local Control Funding Formula will—for the first time—require every school district to establish annual goals and specific actions to reduce chronic absence as part of the development of local plans. This process offers lessons that can apply to any school or district in the nation seeking to use improved attendance as a lever to achieve more equitable outcomes.
This archived webinar will help you:
- Determine whether chronic absence is a hidden problem in your school or district
- Identify which schools and sub-groups of students require interventions to improve attendance
- Provide guidance on what you can do to improve attendance and to help analyze attendance data
- Help you develop goals and activities to meet the requirements of the Local Control and Accountability Plan
Resisting the Margins: Advancing an Imperative to Attend to Race and Culture and the Social-Emotional Growth and Learning of Infants and Toddlers
The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division (CDSS-CCDD), in partnership with WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), hosted a webinar series that focuses on updates from the book, Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization, now in its third edition.
The series highlighted the significant work of infant/toddler care providers and teachers in developing relationships with individual children and their families, an important first step in supporting the children’s social-emotional growth and socialization.
The first in a two-part series, this archived webinar focuses on self-knowledge and meaningful partnerships with families and introduces one of the new chapters from the Infant/Toddler Caregiving book, “Resisting the Margins: Advancing an Imperative to Attend to Race and Culture and the Social-Emotional Growth and Learning of Infants and Toddlers.” Our guest presenter, Eva Marie Shivers, considered poverty and racism, and how these impact the well-being of children, families, and early-childhood educators.
Webinar Moderator: Elizabeth Crocker
Presenter: Eva Marie Shivers
Session Resources
- PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
- Resource List (PDF)
Watch Part 2: From Early Empathy to Acts of Kindness
For more information about the PITC, visit us online at pitc.org.
Promoting Attendance
A collection of resources developed by REL West.
Students who are chronically absent—missing 10 percent or more school days per year—are at serious risk of falling behind at school and not graduating.
- Chronically absent preschool and kindergarten students are academically and developmentally behind their classmates who attend school regularly
- By 3rd grade, chronically absent students have lower reading and math achievement, signaling academic problems ahead
- Being chronically absent in 6th grade raises the likelihood of not graduating from high school
- Students are 7 times more likely to drop out if they are chronically absent even just one year between 8th and 12th grade
The resources in this REL West collection share how schools and districts can use data to design and carry out strategies to reduce chronic absence—from building community awareness to providing intensive one-on-one support for students and families. Educators can leverage these data-driven tools and best practices to implement multi-tiered systems to support student attendance.
Quick Start Guide for Districts to Improve Attendance
This infographic from the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center (WEEAC) offers 6 actionable, quick-to-read steps on how districts can improve student attendance and reduce the chronic absenteeism that jeopardizes student academic success.
According to the U.S. Department of Education , at least 10.1 million students were identified as chronically absent in the 2020-21 academic year. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing 10 percent or more of school for any reason and is one of the early warning indicators that help identify students, student groups, and schools in need of intervention and support. Left unaddressed, chronic absence can translate into students having difficulty learning to read by grade 3, achieving in middle school, and even graduating from high school.
The WEEAC’s partners at Attendance Works are national leaders in addressing chronic absences by illuminating how systemic issues are having a disproportionate impact on specific student groups. With this infographic, local, tribal, state, and federal educators and leaders can plan data-driven, team-based, multi-tiered solutions that involve families and partners and prioritize outreach and engagement with groups that have the highest rates of chronic absence and largest numbers of chronically absent students.
College Promise in California: Recommendations for Advancing Implementation, Impact, and Equity
College Promise programs provide support for students to attend, persevere in, and complete college based on where they live or where they attend school. It has grown from its first program 15 years ago to more than 320 programs in 47 states.
College Promise is not just one specific program — it serves as an umbrella that covers a wide range of programs led by colleges, universities, foundations, and local and state governments. Some only provide financial support, while others offer comprehensive financial, academic, and social support. Despite this variation, they all share a common goal — helping students succeed in higher education and beyond.
This policy brief, produced by WestEd’s California College Promise Project:
- Outlines the legislative landscape that helped fuel the growth of College Promise in California
- Reflects on issues that have arisen as the state’s College Promise legislation and reforms have been implemented
- Offers recommendations for maximizing the equity and impact of the California model of College Promise
ASSETs Final Evaluation Report: California 21st Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) Program
The California 21st Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) Program is part of a statewide effort to address the underachievement of California youth by providing opportunities to become well-adjusted adults and constructive citizens. California’s former Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell, remarked that 1.7 million high school students are not reaching academic levels needed to succeed in the workplace, in college, or as effective citizens.
WestEd’s ASSETs Interim Evaluation Report focused on the initial progress of the first cohort of grantees participating in the ASSETs program. Findings in this final evaluation report include characteristics of after-school programs for high school students, promising organizational and planning practices that support academic achievement, and practices that engage students in planning and participating in the high school after-school projects. Of special interest are findings from the comparative analyses of Cohort 1 data about California Standards Test (CST) scores and California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) scores for ASSETs Program participants and similarly situated students not involved with the ASSETs Program. For example:
- For both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the CAHSEE, after-school participants passed at a significantly higher rate than similarly situated students not involved in the after-school projects.
This finding held true for all participants, those who attended 10 days or more, and those who attended 30 days or more.
This report also highlights evidence of ASSETs Program projects to develop common elements needed to provide an effective platform for added school and community support for high school students as they transition into young adulthood, develop academic skills, prepare for further education and work, and pursue activities they find interesting and meaningful. Such evidence includes:
- strong links to students’ regular academic school day;
- youth involvement in the design, development, promotion, operation, and evaluation of after-school activities and services;
- staff who are qualified to help high school students with academics and who do so with enthusiasm; and
- structural support for students’ developmental needs, including youths’ sense of belonging in the school community, with adults, and with peers.
Numbers Tell a Story: Using School Climate Data to Drive Student Engagement and Motivation
School climate and wellness are essential aspects of school improvement efforts that can lead to increased student engagement, attendance, achievement, and success. But cultivating and sustaining a positive school climate that creates the necessary conditions for learning and teaching can be challenging.
The Moving the Needle on School Climate and Wellness Toward a Happier and Healthier School Community webinar series is designed to help school leaders plan and implement policies and practices that improve climate, engage students and staff, and support the needs of all members of the school community.
The series features subject matter experts and practitioners from around the country as guest presenters. Participants are welcome to attend any or all of the webinars. Archived recordings of each webinar will be available.
This second webinar, Numbers Tell a Story: Using School Climate Data to Drive Student Engagement and Motivation, explores what key questions might arise when school leaders start to look closely at school climate data, and how might schools collect additional information to guide policy and practice.
Who Will Benefit
- K-12 school district superintendents and administrators
- Principals and site administrators
- Teacher leaders, behavior specialists, intervention coordinators
- School board members and parent leaders
What You Will Learn
- Review the basics of collecting and analyzing school climate data and identifying areas where more information is needed
- Consider ways to investigate and address disparities in school connectedness, safety, academics, and discipline
- Learn how to incorporate school climate and wellness issues into ongoing school improvement efforts
- Hear from school/district leaders effectively using data to influence policy and practice and improve school climate
Presenters
- Erin Valls, School Climate Transformation Grant SCTG/AWARE Project Director
- Jenny Betz, School Climate Specialist, Health & Justice Program at WestEd
- Christina Pate, Research Associate, Health & Justice Program at WestEd
View Other Webinars in This Series
- School Climate and Wellness Foundations: Strategic Goals for Improved Teaching and Learning (Aired October 27, 2017)
- Refueling Mid-Year: Self and Collective Care for School-Based Staff (Aired February 20, 2018)
- Crossing the Finish Line: Student Wellness and End-of-Year Transitions (Aired April 11, 2018)
California College Promise: The Relationship Between State Policy and Local Programs
College Promise programs provide support for students to attend, persevere in, and complete college based on where they live or where they attend school. It has grown from its first program 15 years ago to more than 320 programs in 47 states.
College Promise is not just one specific program — it serves as an umbrella that covers a wide range of programs led by colleges, universities, foundations, and local and state governments. Some only provide financial support, while others offer comprehensive financial, academic, and social support. Despite this variation, they all share a common goal — helping students succeed in higher education and beyond.
This brief is produced by the California College Promise Project (CCPP) at WestEd and describes the relationship between the 2017 legislation “Community Colleges: California College Promise” (AB19) and the structure of local College Promise programs. The analysis examines College Promise programs between August 2017 and August 2019, exploring the extent to which the legislation may have contributed to structural changes in programs that had existed before the legislation as well as the degree to which it is reflected in the design of programs that were developed after the legislation was in place. This brief provides useful information for policymakers and practitioners from California and other states considering how to best structure both programs and legislation.
Self-Care Strategies for Educators During the Coronavirus Crisis: Supporting Personal Social and Emotional Well-Being
The challenges and stresses that educators face in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented. To continue supporting their students in this challenging context, teachers and other educators must first be able to take care of themselves.
Addressed to educators who face the stresses of the pandemic and the resulting school closures and online service provision, this brief offers practical information and guidance on self-care. It describes self-care as paying adequate attention to one’s own physical and psychological health and wellness, and actively attending to one’s own health and well-being.
The brief, produced by WestEd as part of a collection of Crisis Response Resources, builds on a growing research base about self-care, as well as WestEd’s extensive experience in education, public health, and wellness services.
The brief provides sections on healthy mindsets and behaviors; identity, connectedness, and belonging; healthy boundaries and interactions; and when to seek help. The guidance aims to help educators attend to self-care so that they, in turn, can most effectively continue to educate and support those who depend on them.
For more information and guidance, visit our COVID-19 Resources page.
Forging Partnerships to Get Students to School
Chronic student absence—missing more than 10 percent of school during a single school year for any reason—is a serious challenge affecting the well-being of students, families, schools, and the communities in which they live.
High levels of chronic absence can be a sign that families and students are having difficulty getting to school because they face significant health, social, and economic challenges.
This archived webinar showcases examples of schools, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and mental health agencies working together to help children get to school so they have a chance to learn, graduate from high school, and thrive.
Speakers share strategies for:
- Identifying root causes of absenteeism and possible solutions in your agency/community
- Using September Attendance Awareness Month to take action to reduce absences
- Applying the tools of “Collective Impact” to build collaboration among agencies
This archived webinar is aimed at California educators, including school and district teachers, other staff, and administrators; as well as social service, juvenile justice, and mental health practitioners and managers. Practitioners nationwide are also encouraged to participate.
The Region IX Equity Assistance Center at WestEd, the California Department of Education, and Attendance Works cosponsored this webinar.