O PSB A Presentation: Addressing Student Absenteeism in Northwestern O ntario Ellen Chambers June 2 2018
Hello and W elcome! Ellen Chambers, Trustee Colleen Kappel, Superintendent
N orthwestern O ntario
The Problem
R esponding to the problem Understanding student absenteeism Research project with Dr. Christina van Barneveld Connect with the region M ISA/PNC, NOEL school boards Examine our practices Safe arrival, staff training Intervene Nudge letters, school-based initiatives, HERE Campaign
Research Plan (Overall) The purpose of the research was to investigate and identify key issues related to absenteeism at LDSB schools. Two research studies Current Research W hat is the prevalence of chronic, moderate, and excessive levels of absence for the board? W hat are the main predictors of student absence in Grades 1-8 and 9-12? Future research W hat is the relationship between absenteeism rate and student achievement?
Research Actions and Outcomes
Elementary Schools 2017-2018 All [A, E, G, L, N] Elementary OVERALL ABSENTEEISM RATE SELF-ID FNMI ABSENTEEISM RATE IEP ABSENTEEISM RATE BUSSED ABSENTEEISM RATE Full Listing Full Listing Full Listing Full Listing
Site V isits Meet with school-based teams to review absenteeism data to determine correlates of absenteeism Determine trends in the data Share best practices Consider which schools might be suitable for a case study (future research)
Introduction to the list of correlates of absenteeism (from the literature) Several lists of correlates of absenteeism Direction of correlation with absenteeism: Positive: as these increase, absenteeism increases Negative: as these increase, absenteeism decreases Levels: Student School Neighbourhood Some examples
Research results (to date)
Research results (to date)
Research results (to date) Clusters of correlates
Research results (to date) Clusters of correlates
Next steps in the research Quantitative analysis of data Secondary school site visits Case studies of 3 elementary schools and 2 secondary schools Investigate the connection between student achievement and absenteeism Continue to work with regional and community partners
Examining our practices Safe arrival Staff training and support Social W ork Attendance Team (SW AT team) Communication School-level initiatives Community B reakfast program Incentive and recognition programs Engaging parents
HERE Campaign I m H ere! The Here campaign is for school boards across the region to give every school day counts champions a brand, a name, and a voice.
HERE Campaign Stakeholder Input During the research phase various stakeholders from eight participating district school boards were interviewed including: Teachers Principals Social workers Attendance Counselors Parents and Guardians
HERE Campaign Campaign Objective: To build awareness around the attendance issues in the region and to provide communication tools to help improve attendance. HERE Campaign Target Audiences: Students Parents and guardians School staff Community
HERE Campaign HERE Campaign Start Up K its: Introduction card Toolkit assets on USB Posters Lanyards Buttons
http://www.heretoolkit.com Print ad templates Digital ad templates Social M edia ad templates Posters V ideo Radio ad template Roll up displays and B anner Toolkit newsletter template Presentation Template
http://www.heretoolkit.com I m Here! video filmed in the Fall of 2017 on location at the 8 Regional School Boards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e--a7cnwixc&t=1s