Attendance Support  Process

FIRST LETTER 

• The 1st letter is sent once a student has accrued 3 or more unexcused absences and/or 18 period absences (tardies over 30 minutes). 

• Attendance clerks generate these letters in Aeries. 

• This letter notifies the student's family of the attendance concern, the risks of patterns of poor attendance, 

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Universal Support:

At the tier Site Intervention level. Schools are focused on building relationships with all families and students. Each student and their family should feel a sense of belonging at the school.  Site staff engage in relationship building using, e.g., holding  Restorative conversations, engaging the family, and/or implementing the Relationship Mapping Strategy

Site teams will monitor attendance data monthly or bi-monthly (2x per month) and will implement 2-3 week school-wide attendance campaigns focused on furthering or establishing a sense of belonging anytime the school-wide attendance rate is below 96%.

The same data will be reviewed at the conclusion of the campaign (the following month) to determine if it was effective in improving attendance and fostering belonging for all students.

Site teams are encouraged to think outside the box on how to ensure these belonging campaigns reach families and students who are close to experiencing absenteeism.

SECOND LETTER 

• The 2nd letter regarding concerns with student attendance is sent at the discretion of the site administration.

•  Students qualify to receive this letter if they continue to accrue unexcused absences or truant tardies after the 1st letter has been received by the student's parent/guardian. 

• This letter notifies families that the site intervention team will be in contact with the family for more information to help the team identify appropriate interventions and supports moving forward.

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Targeted Support: SITE-BASED ATTENDANCE INTERVENTION MEETING

At the Tier II level, schools are focused on addressing the needs of the students and families who are struggling with absenteeism. At this level, a school intervention team will pull up a list of students who are deemed chronically absent.

Intervention teams generate a list of students with a threshold of 85% attendance rates or less, use the list of those students who are chronically absent to complete the single-page absenteeism Root Cause and Intervention Matching Tool or another assessment for each student on the list, and match them to appropriate interventions.

The site team creates a SUCCESS PLAN for the student (invites the family to be a part of the meeting). The plan is shared, implemented, and monitored. * If the family does not participate, the team still creates a plan and communicates the plan with the family.

The intervention team reviews attendance data at the next intervention team meeting (should take place 2-4 weeks after implementing the support plan) to determine the effectiveness of the intervention(s). The team then decides appropriate next steps and whether the student should be referred to a third Tier for more of an individualized intervention.

THIRD LETTER 

• This 3rd letter regarding concern with student attendance is sent at the discretion of the site administration.

• Students qualify to receive this letter if they continue to accrue unexcused absences or truant tardies after the Site-Based Attendance Intervention Plan was implemented. 

• This letter notifies the family that they have been referred to the Multi-Agency Student Support Team.

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MULTI-AGENCY ATTENDANCE SUPPORT TEAM MEETING (MAST)

Intensive Support: Family is referred to the Attendance Support Specialist, who arranges for the 

MULTI-AGENCY ATTENDANCE SUPPORT MEETING 

The family is notified of the referral to the Multi-Agency Student Support Team via the 3rd letter. During this meeting, the team includes the family as team members working together to create an attendance action plan by evaluating needs, barriers, available supports/resources, and creating a system for frequent follow-up and feedback. Elementary Template, Secondary Template (sample templates from Attendance Works change as needed).

Referral for Court Citation

If all available supports and interventions at both the school site and district level have been fully implemented, and no improvement is observed after a minimum of two weeks of monitoring, the school site MAY initiate a referral for a court citation. Note: Court referrals are an absolute last resort of intervention in the process. 

To obtain the referral link, the school site must email Antonio Gipson, Attendance Support Specialist.

Referral Eligibility Requirements:

1. The student/guardian must have received:
   
   

2. All three non-attendance letters (uploaded in Aeries intervention under documents)
   
   

3. A Completed Site-Based Intervention Meeting (SIM)
   
   

4. A Multi-Agency Support Team (MAST) contract agreement
   
   

These requirements MUST be met during the 2025–2026 school year.

***Students younger than 6 years old or older than 18 years old are not eligible for referral.