Community Discussion about Equity and Attendance
Hosted by Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC) and the IDRA EAC-South
Naturally, states and school districts have rules about student attendance. But sometimes attendance policies are unfair to specific student groups.
Being present for school impacts student access to instruction. It also can indicate student engagement and sense of belonging, which support academic performance. The COVID-19 pandemic caused school officials and communities to consider the most effective and meaningful approaches to measuring, collecting, reporting and using attendance data to better support students.
This interactive, virtual webinar featured a panel of students, families and education agency staff who discussed various topics on authentic engagement in attendance-related practices, such as:
- How do schools and districts engage with students and their families in conversations about school attendance policies?
- How do schools and districts consider student and family input on attendance intervention strategies?
- Why do students attend school?
- How do schools and districts engage in multilingual communication with families?
- What are sustainable strategies for supporting chronically absent students?
Following the discussion, participants discussed in breakout sessions featuring one or more panelists. They also got to see a new Equity & Attendance Discussion Guide to help continue meaningful conversations to support better attendance through an equity lens.
The webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes, followed by an optional 30-minute “talkback” to continue the conversation with panelists.
This webinar was particularly designed for:
- Community-based organization staff
- State education agency (SEA )staff involved with chronic absenteeism, student attendance and related areas (e.g., COVID-19 response teams, social and emotional learning);
- School and education service agency staff
- U.S. Department of Education technical assistance centers and grantees
The meeting recording is available to view with the passcode 14+&+yN8.
