0:00:00.469,0:00:04.980 thank you for your interest in this 0:00:02.760,0:00:08.099 three-part webinar series on ending 0:00:04.980,0:00:10.500 chronic absenteeism in Kentucky this 0:00:08.099,0:00:13.290 first webinar entitled learning about 0:00:10.500,0:00:15.540 chronic absenteeism provides an overview 0:00:13.290,0:00:17.880 of the issue to explain what it means to 0:00:15.540,0:00:23.100 be chronically absent and what the data 0:00:17.880,0:00:25.109 tell us about Kentucky students this 0:00:23.100,0:00:26.539 webinar series is produced by the 0:00:25.109,0:00:30.000 Kentucky Department of Education 0:00:26.539,0:00:31.619 division of student success with support 0:00:30.000,0:00:34.110 from the Appalachian Regional 0:00:31.619,0:00:37.670 comprehensive center funded in part by 0:00:34.110,0:00:37.670 the US Department of Education 0:00:38.230,0:00:43.430 there are three objectives for this 0:00:40.760,0:00:45.740 webinar first we want to provide 0:00:43.430,0:00:48.440 educators with an overview of chronic 0:00:45.740,0:00:51.260 absenteeism for context we will share 0:00:48.440,0:00:54.170 definitions causes and major findings 0:00:51.260,0:00:56.330 from a growing body of research second 0:00:54.170,0:00:59.660 we'll look at Kentucky specific data and 0:00:56.330,0:01:01.879 last we'll share information about KDE 0:00:59.660,0:01:04.930 initiatives underway to support 0:01:01.879,0:01:04.930 districts and schools 0:01:05.400,0:01:09.640 the US Department of Education took a 0:01:08.230,0:01:14.320 more critical look at chronic 0:01:09.640,0:01:16.450 absenteeism in response to its 2013-2014 0:01:14.320,0:01:18.730 Office of Civil Rights data collection 0:01:16.450,0:01:21.310 that highlighted the extent of the issue 0:01:18.730,0:01:23.380 nationally and the growing body of 0:01:21.310,0:01:24.910 research linking chronic absenteeism to 0:01:23.380,0:01:30.040 dropout risk and poor academic 0:01:24.910,0:01:33.190 performance updated data from 2015-2016 0:01:30.040,0:01:36.729 revealed that 7.3 million students 0:01:33.190,0:01:38.400 missed 15 or more school days that's 16 0:01:36.729,0:01:42.700 percent of the student population 0:01:38.400,0:01:44.619 equivalent to 1 and 6 students research 0:01:42.700,0:01:47.050 on parent attitudes conducted by the Ad 0:01:44.619,0:01:49.990 Council highlighted misperceptions on 0:01:47.050,0:01:51.610 the part of parents although 86% of 0:01:49.990,0:01:53.380 parents understood the critical 0:01:51.610,0:01:55.960 importance of school attendance for a 0:01:53.380,0:01:58.119 child's school success about half of 0:01:55.960,0:01:59.710 those surveyed thought it was okay for a 0:01:58.119,0:02:02.979 student to miss three or more days of 0:01:59.710,0:02:05.830 school a month the US Department of 0:02:02.979,0:02:08.259 Education initiated several campaigns to 0:02:05.830,0:02:11.800 raise awareness about the academic risks 0:02:08.259,0:02:14.230 of accumulated absences at the same time 0:02:11.800,0:02:17.140 the reauthorization of the every student 0:02:14.230,0:02:19.690 succeeds Act required states to include 0:02:17.140,0:02:23.049 a non-traditional indicator of school 0:02:19.690,0:02:25.660 quality or student success Kentucky 0:02:23.049,0:02:28.120 along with 35 other states and the 0:02:25.660,0:02:30.040 District of Columbia include chronic 0:02:28.120,0:02:33.120 absenteeism in their state 0:02:30.040,0:02:33.120 accountability plans 0:02:34.519,0:02:40.530 so what do we mean by chronic 0:02:37.590,0:02:42.689 absenteeism the US Department of 0:02:40.530,0:02:46.200 Education defines it and as a student 0:02:42.689,0:02:49.409 missing 10% or more of school days in a 0:02:46.200,0:02:52.470 school year again for any reason excused 0:02:49.409,0:02:54.239 or unexcused the kentucky definition is 0:02:52.470,0:02:56.640 more nuanced to capture lost 0:02:54.239,0:02:59.370 instructional time which takes into 0:02:56.640,0:03:01.170 consideration tardies being taken out 0:02:59.370,0:03:04.409 for doctor's appointments skipping class 0:03:01.170,0:03:07.859 and so on if a student misses more than 0:03:04.409,0:03:10.470 10% or more of their enrolled academic 0:03:07.859,0:03:16.560 year then that student is considered 0:03:10.470,0:03:18.299 chronically absent in Kentucky it is 0:03:16.560,0:03:21.019 important to understand that chronic 0:03:18.299,0:03:23.269 absenteeism is not the same as truancy 0:03:21.019,0:03:26.579 truancy only takes into consideration 0:03:23.269,0:03:28.620 unexcused absences as we discussed 0:03:26.579,0:03:30.109 earlier in this webinar students miss 0:03:28.620,0:03:32.519 school for many different reasons 0:03:30.109,0:03:34.980 whether they oversleep and lack 0:03:32.519,0:03:37.169 transportation to school or the family 0:03:34.980,0:03:40.260 takes an extended vacation the outcome 0:03:37.169,0:03:42.599 is still missed instructional time these 0:03:40.260,0:03:44.370 absences can add up over time so that a 0:03:42.599,0:03:49.099 student who misses two days a month 0:03:44.370,0:03:49.099 every month will be chronically absent 0:03:50.680,0:03:56.630 focusing on chronic absenteeism requires 0:03:53.690,0:03:58.820 a shift in thinking a focus solely on 0:03:56.630,0:04:01.400 truancy only takes into account on 0:03:58.820,0:04:03.530 excused absences and communications with 0:04:01.400,0:04:05.930 parents and caregivers tend to focus on 0:04:03.530,0:04:09.020 compliance and often result in punitive 0:04:05.930,0:04:11.570 legal consequences chronic absenteeism 0:04:09.020,0:04:14.360 on the other hand emphasizes the 0:04:11.570,0:04:16.100 academic impacts of missing school with 0:04:14.360,0:04:18.950 school system supporting students 0:04:16.100,0:04:20.860 families and caregivers and recognizing 0:04:18.950,0:04:23.000 the risks and overcoming their barriers 0:04:20.860,0:04:25.390 often with support from community 0:04:23.000,0:04:25.390 partners 0:04:26.379,0:04:30.169 which students are impacted 0:04:28.389,0:04:33.409 disproportionately by chronic 0:04:30.169,0:04:35.960 absenteeism this issue affects students 0:04:33.409,0:04:38.889 regardless of age ethnicity or residency 0:04:35.960,0:04:41.150 but national data do reveal some trends 0:04:38.889,0:04:43.400 students with disabilities tend to have 0:04:41.150,0:04:46.360 higher rates of chronic absenteeism as 0:04:43.400,0:04:48.319 do American Indian and Pacific Islanders 0:04:46.360,0:04:50.810 students from high poverty communities 0:04:48.319,0:04:53.900 are four times more likely to be 0:04:50.810,0:04:55.970 chronically absent rates also vary by 0:04:53.900,0:04:58.930 grade level with high schoolers having 0:04:55.970,0:04:58.930 the highest numbers 0:04:59.430,0:05:05.470 causes of chronic absenteeism fall 0:05:02.110,0:05:07.780 across four main categories barriers to 0:05:05.470,0:05:10.510 getting to school negative school 0:05:07.780,0:05:13.060 experiences lack of engagement and 0:05:10.510,0:05:15.730 misperceptions about the value of seat 0:05:13.060,0:05:17.350 time this slide highlights some of the 0:05:15.730,0:05:20.740 main barriers keeping students from 0:05:17.350,0:05:22.660 getting to school illness trauma lack of 0:05:20.740,0:05:25.420 adequate transportation particularly if 0:05:22.660,0:05:27.250 they miss the school bus highly mobile 0:05:25.420,0:05:29.710 students those experiencing homelessness 0:05:27.250,0:05:32.080 and those in foster care or the juvenile 0:05:29.710,0:05:37.540 justice system also face unique 0:05:32.080,0:05:39.940 challenges this slide highlights ways in 0:05:37.540,0:05:43.060 which negative school experiences lead 0:05:39.940,0:05:45.790 to chronic absenteeism students who are 0:05:43.060,0:05:48.940 struggling academically or socially tend 0:05:45.790,0:05:50.220 to avoid school parental attitudes also 0:05:48.940,0:05:52.240 impact a student's attendance 0:05:50.220,0:05:54.460 particularly those parents or caregivers 0:05:52.240,0:05:59.980 who had negative school experiences 0:05:54.460,0:06:03.070 themselves lack of engagement is another 0:05:59.980,0:06:04.450 cause unwelcoming school climates can 0:06:03.070,0:06:07.660 also keep students from attending 0:06:04.450,0:06:10.450 regularly instruction may not be 0:06:07.660,0:06:12.700 culturally relevant or engaging in some 0:06:10.450,0:06:15.340 cases teachers may also be absent often 0:06:12.700,0:06:18.160 if students do not feel like they have 0:06:15.340,0:06:20.320 strong ties to teachers or are starting 0:06:18.160,0:06:24.150 to fall behind in credits they may opt 0:06:20.320,0:06:24.150 to skip school with other peers 0:06:24.850,0:06:30.230 oftentimes students and their families 0:06:27.770,0:06:32.630 and caregivers have misconceptions about 0:06:30.230,0:06:34.670 missing school they may believe that 0:06:32.630,0:06:36.920 excused absences are okay 0:06:34.670,0:06:39.320 no matter the frequency they may also 0:06:36.920,0:06:41.690 not be aware of the impact that sporadic 0:06:39.320,0:06:45.350 absences have on learning and that 0:06:41.690,0:06:48.050 spotty attendance adds up over time high 0:06:45.350,0:06:49.970 rates of chronic absenteeism also occur 0:06:48.050,0:06:52.370 in preschool and kindergarten years 0:06:49.970,0:06:54.740 based in part on the false belief that 0:06:52.370,0:06:58.220 absences and the early grades do not 0:06:54.740,0:07:02.320 impede academic success this pattern can 0:06:58.220,0:07:02.320 create future attendance habits 0:07:03.840,0:07:09.430 we do know from research that chronic 0:07:06.850,0:07:11.500 absenteeism in these early years does 0:07:09.430,0:07:14.320 interfere with reading proficiency by 0:07:11.500,0:07:16.000 third grade and this negative impact on 0:07:14.320,0:07:19.030 literacy is more significant for 0:07:16.000,0:07:21.220 low-income students third grade reading 0:07:19.030,0:07:22.990 proficiency is an important indicator as 0:07:21.220,0:07:25.180 this is a point where students 0:07:22.990,0:07:27.510 transition from learning how to read to 0:07:25.180,0:07:30.550 using reading for academic learning at 0:07:27.510,0:07:32.650 the secondary level there is a strong 0:07:30.550,0:07:35.070 correlation between chronic absenteeism 0:07:32.650,0:07:38.500 and the risk of dropping out 0:07:35.070,0:07:40.480 overall regular attendance is associated 0:07:38.500,0:07:43.180 with improved academic achievement 0:07:40.480,0:07:46.080 credit accrual and a sense of engagement 0:07:43.180,0:07:46.080 at school 0:07:46.869,0:07:52.759 let's take a closer look at chronic 0:07:49.369,0:07:54.559 absenteeism in Kentucky after attending 0:07:52.759,0:07:57.979 a policy meeting with the US Department 0:07:54.559,0:08:00.049 of Education in 2016 the Kentucky 0:07:57.979,0:08:02.509 Department of Education convened a work 0:08:00.049,0:08:04.189 group of various stakeholders to help 0:08:02.509,0:08:07.519 them create a state accountability 0:08:04.189,0:08:10.369 definition to identify and analyze state 0:08:07.519,0:08:12.049 data and to recommend strategies for 0:08:10.369,0:08:13.789 supporting school districts and using 0:08:12.049,0:08:16.759 their own data to implement 0:08:13.789,0:08:19.219 interventions representatives on the 0:08:16.759,0:08:21.919 workgroup include a range of Education 0:08:19.219,0:08:27.769 staff from various roles as well as 0:08:21.919,0:08:29.209 community-based agencies an important 0:08:27.769,0:08:31.539 step and understanding chronic 0:08:29.209,0:08:34.999 absenteeism is to examine the data 0:08:31.539,0:08:37.329 almost 17% of Kentucky students were 0:08:34.999,0:08:41.889 considered chronically absent in the 0:08:37.329,0:08:43.269 2016-17 school year up from 15.5% in 0:08:41.889,0:08:46.600 2011-12 0:08:43.269,0:08:49.129 the data are disaggregated by severity 0:08:46.600,0:08:51.139 the green represents students who missed 0:08:49.129,0:08:54.259 between ten and fifteen percent of the 0:08:51.139,0:08:57.439 academic year orange is students missing 0:08:54.259,0:09:00.050 between 15 and 20 percent and purple are 0:08:57.439,0:09:03.319 those that miss more than 20% of the 0:09:00.050,0:09:05.629 academic year these data show that 0:09:03.319,0:09:08.120 almost half of our students who are 0:09:05.629,0:09:12.309 chronically absent are missing fifteen 0:09:08.120,0:09:12.309 percent or more of their academic year 0:09:13.660,0:09:19.579 when we look at the data by grade level 0:09:15.999,0:09:21.709 we see that almost 34 percent of our 0:09:19.579,0:09:25.009 chronically absent students are in the 0:09:21.709,0:09:28.970 12th grade notice the u-shaped curve 0:09:25.009,0:09:31.309 overall 16.5% of kindergarteners are 0:09:28.970,0:09:33.429 chronically absent and the percentages 0:09:31.309,0:09:36.350 go down through the elementary years 0:09:33.429,0:09:38.179 then the percentages increase beginning 0:09:36.350,0:09:40.160 in middle school and bump up after 0:09:38.179,0:09:42.110 transition to high school with more 0:09:40.160,0:09:44.739 dramatic increases throughout the high 0:09:42.110,0:09:44.739 school years 0:09:47.439,0:09:51.470 looking at school level data by the 0:09:50.209,0:09:55.490 percentage of students who are 0:09:51.470,0:09:58.009 chronically absent note that 555 schools 0:09:55.490,0:10:00.649 almost half of the data set have 0:09:58.009,0:10:02.199 significant rates with between 10 and 19 0:10:00.649,0:10:05.480 percent of their student population 0:10:02.199,0:10:07.850 identified as chronically absent another 0:10:05.480,0:10:11.660 30 percent have high or extreme levels 0:10:07.850,0:10:14.540 and those 133 schools with extreme rates 0:10:11.660,0:10:17.149 a third of their students or more are 0:10:14.540,0:10:19.580 missing at least 10 percent of the 0:10:17.149,0:10:22.730 school year 0:10:19.580,0:10:25.279 in addressing chronic absenteeism 0:10:22.730,0:10:27.010 locally examine your district and 0:10:25.279,0:10:29.450 school-level data 0:10:27.010,0:10:31.640 Infinite Campus includes a chronic 0:10:29.450,0:10:33.920 absenteeism report that can offer 0:10:31.640,0:10:36.980 insights into which students are absent 0:10:33.920,0:10:39.200 how often disaggregating by grade level 0:10:36.980,0:10:40.970 and student subgroups can help 0:10:39.200,0:10:43.760 administrators see patterns that will 0:10:40.970,0:10:45.980 inform their decision-making the early 0:10:43.760,0:10:48.230 warning tool also uses attendance as a 0:10:45.980,0:10:51.070 stability factor in its dropout risk 0:10:48.230,0:10:51.070 calculation 0:10:52.569,0:10:57.470 insights from the data about the degree 0:10:55.160,0:10:59.300 of chronic absenteeism and who your 0:10:57.470,0:11:00.889 students are can lead to an 0:10:59.300,0:11:04.040 understanding about the root causes 0:11:00.889,0:11:06.110 behind absences this model from 0:11:04.040,0:11:09.529 attendance works shows a tiered approach 0:11:06.110,0:11:11.089 to addressing those root causes webinar 0:11:09.529,0:11:14.149 two in this series will focus more 0:11:11.089,0:11:16.040 in-depth on interventions but this model 0:11:14.149,0:11:18.410 provides an overall framework for 0:11:16.040,0:11:20.029 thinking about interventions you can 0:11:18.410,0:11:22.910 pause the webinar here to take a closer 0:11:20.029,0:11:25.639 look at the details be sure to watch 0:11:22.910,0:11:27.319 webinar 2 for more information on tiered 0:11:25.639,0:11:32.689 interventions for addressing chronic 0:11:27.319,0:11:34.610 absenteeism with guidance from the 0:11:32.689,0:11:37.430 chronic absenteeism workgroup and 0:11:34.610,0:11:39.620 support from the arc KDE has created 0:11:37.430,0:11:41.749 outreach materials and resources like 0:11:39.620,0:11:43.459 this webinar to support the work of 0:11:41.749,0:11:46.639 districts and schools in addressing 0:11:43.459,0:11:48.889 chronic absenteeism a set of caregiver 0:11:46.639,0:11:50.839 letters has been created for use to 0:11:48.889,0:11:53.019 reach out to families in order to create 0:11:50.839,0:11:56.300 a channel of communication and support 0:11:53.019,0:11:58.129 one letter is an early intervention to 0:11:56.300,0:12:00.620 alert caregivers to their students 0:11:58.129,0:12:03.290 increasing absenteeism before it becomes 0:12:00.620,0:12:05.420 chronic a second letter serves as a 0:12:03.290,0:12:08.360 follow-up when students are chronically 0:12:05.420,0:12:10.759 absent both letters include a visual 0:12:08.360,0:12:13.879 element to help caregivers see how 0:12:10.759,0:12:16.040 absences add up over time something they 0:12:13.879,0:12:19.639 may not be aware of in terms of their 0:12:16.040,0:12:21.889 child proactive personalized and 0:12:19.639,0:12:26.240 positive messaging is a critical part of 0:12:21.889,0:12:29.329 intervention KDE also created an 0:12:26.240,0:12:31.910 infographic shown here that provides an 0:12:29.329,0:12:36.160 overview of chronic absenteeism at a 0:12:31.910,0:12:36.160 glance to help raise awareness 0:12:38.839,0:12:44.699 KDE initiatives on chronic absenteeism 0:12:41.759,0:12:47.459 are continuously underway with two 0:12:44.699,0:12:49.439 additional webinars in this series the 0:12:47.459,0:12:52.290 second webinar takes a closer look at 0:12:49.439,0:12:55.019 root causes and showcases promising 0:12:52.290,0:12:57.269 practices the third webinar takes a 0:12:55.019,0:13:00.110 deeper dive into engaging students 0:12:57.269,0:13:02.850 caregivers and community agencies 0:13:00.110,0:13:05.939 resources such as the caregiver letters 0:13:02.850,0:13:10.129 and infographic are available on the KDE 0:13:05.939,0:13:10.129 chronic absenteeism web page 0:13:12.070,0:13:17.060 more information is available through 0:13:15.050,0:13:19.160 que des Division of Student Success 0:13:17.060,0:13:21.890 within the office of continuous 0:13:19.160,0:13:24.230 improvement and support you'll find our 0:13:21.890,0:13:28.810 address and contact information on the 0:13:24.230,0:13:28.810 screen thank you for watching