Multi-tiered systems of support for school attendance and its problems: An unlearning perspective for areas of high chronic absenteeism

Abstract

School attendance problems (SAPs) are a vexing challenge for many educational districts given their complexity, heterogeneity, and opacity. One potential coordinated, integrated approach to ameliorate SAPs and boost school attendance is to leverage existing school-based systems already designed to address multiple individual domains of functioning in students. Multi-tiered systems of support frameworks for school attendance and its problems have been developed but remain in the nascent stage. The purpose of this perspective article is to begin a discussion as to how such frameworks for SAPs could be fundamentally reconfigured in areas with very high rates of chronic absenteeism. Recommendations are provided at each tier, with the understanding that original notions of how tiers are ostensibly constructed and aimed must be unlearned in these circumstances.

From Attendance Data to Student Support: International Practices for Recording, Reporting, and Using Data on School Attendance and Absence

“…Interested parties, including school personnel and education departments, can use it to efficiently identify and respond to the needs of individual youths, schools, and communities (Heyne et al, 2023). Related, DSAA plays a crucial role in shaping policies at various levels, from schools to communities and nationally (Kearney & Graczyk, 2022), and informing best practices for education and school attendance .…”

Translating sophisticated data analytic strategies regarding school attendance and absenteeism into targeted educational policy

“…Third, a multidimensional MTSS framework for school attendance/absenteeism could be well-informed by more sophisticated data analytic strategies by identifying specific targets of intervention at Tiers 1, 2, and 3. At Tier 1 , the preventative stage, strategies to improve school climate are a key approach in an MTSS model to promote school attendance (Kearney & Graczyk, 2020, 2022). Elements of these strategies include effective classroom management practices, incentives for appropriate behavior, and clear behavioral expectations, among others (Kittelman et al, 2019).…”

School attendance problems and absenteeism as early warning signals: review and implications for health-based protocols and school-based practices

“…More specifically, a holistic approach would involve universal and frequent screening of even subtle attendance changes, qualitative methods to understand relevant contextual factors, assignment of focused and restorative interventions, and partnerships with community entities for empowering supports (Kim and Gentle-Genitty, 2020;Kipp and Clark, 2022). A more holistic approach toward improving attendance would also include an understanding that the surrounding community must often be an additional and sometimes primary target of intervention (Kearney and Graczyk, 2022). In essence, systems themselves must send their own signal that school attendance at any level is valued, appreciated, important, and prioritized (Warne et al, 2020).…”