I have a lot of friends who work in education. This fact is probably pretty typical for someone that works in the education field. Several high school friends work as teachers around the country, many college friends joined Teach for America or entered the profession via their undergraduate programs. Heck, even my long-term girlfriend, Emmi, is a pre-k through 2 music teacher down in Silver Spring, Maryland. I love having connections to so many other educators because when we get together, we get to trade stories and find that many of us deal with the same issues despite differences in geography or age-level.
I have connected with teacher friends on the issue of attendance several times. Every once in awhile, Emmi will mention that a student has missed her music class several times- which makes it difficult for her to catch them up- which makes it difficult for her to fairly assess their understanding of key musical concepts... frustration for everyone. According to this recent attendance and student performance report for New York City by The Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. in 2011, attendance and achievement are inextricably linked with chronic absences (missing 10% of the school year) signaling students at-risk of being academically off-track. So as counselors, how do we promote student buy-in when facing attendance issues?
One of my friends from high school, Mr. Kayser, is now a music teacher in Racine, Wisconsin. Administrators in his district created a "truancy competition" where teachers, counselors, administrators and students were encouraged to make public service announcements about the dangers of truancy. As a music teacher, Mr. Kayser took the opportunity to incorporate the creative talents of the students to create and share the message. Here is how he explained the project in the description of the video:
"This video was created for a video competition held by the Racine Unified School district to promote the dangers of truancy.
All lyrics, choreography, and video was created by the students at S.C. Johnson Elementary (Racine, WI) during a multiple week "Music Video" unit!
During the first week each student had the opportunity to write his or her own lyrics. Students learned about rhyming, using descriptive words, and making the words fit with the music.
During the second week we explored the world of recording. The students learned about the various techniques and equipment involved with recording. (We used Garageband to record the song)
During the last week we explored the different types of music videos, how they are made, brainstormed ideas, and spent time filming throughout the school!
Hope you enjoy the creative product of the talented students at SCJ!"
I was so impressed by Mr. Kayer's efforts (and have probably watched the video ten times)! Not only did the students create a fun and educational product, they had to discuss and learn about the dangers of truancy- the product is great, but I am most excited about the process! Alex didn't write the song or the choreography or force the kids to perform. Instead, he asked them to create the message. With nearly 3,000 views, I sure hope this group of creative students won that competition.
My internship site is a high school with an attendance rate around 75-80%. Right away when I began my internship in January, I was pulled onto an attendance team with administrators, social workers, a few teachers and several students. First, I was charged with gathering data from our freshman cohort. Using Naviance, which is basically the coolest counseling tool invented since the Post-It, I met with all students who had below an 85% attendance rate and asked them to complete a survey. We sought information about both the barriers to their attendance (health issues, parental issues, work requirements, etc) and incentives for coming to school.
After I collected the data, our attendance team created an "Attendance Competition" with the ultimate prize of a free carnival at school. Basically, the grade level with the greatest increase in their attendance between the beginning of February and the end of April wins. I made classroom announcements and Twitter declarations. Another intern made a display for the hallway where we mark the weekly percentage changes. I am also charged with creating a weekly classroom notice that each teacher posts on the inside of their classroom door to help hold students and teachers accountable. Several weeks in and I am happy to report that all of the grade levels have increased their attendance percentages. I am excited for that free carnival, gotta get that cotton candy.
Ultimately, I believe that attendance interventions need to be created (at least in part) BY students and not always simply FOR them. When students participate in the intervention process, they learn about accountability and leadership. The students who are involved with my high school's attendance competition are charged with getting the word out and acting as leaders with their peers. They learn, first-hand, how important attendance is for school achievement.
