{"id":858,"date":"2023-03-15T17:19:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T21:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lexisnexis.test\/?p=858"},"modified":"2023-10-13T17:07:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T21:07:05","slug":"eac-south-webinar-offers-ways-to-boost-student-attendance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eacsouth.org\/es\/blog\/eac-south-webinar-offers-ways-to-boost-student-attendance\/","title":{"rendered":"EAC-South Webinar Offers Ways to Boost Student Attendance"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kyra Watts, EAC-South at SEF Communications Associate
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On April 25, the\u00a0Equity Assistance Center-South\u00a0(EAC-South) and the Student Engagement Attendance Center<\/a> (SEAC) presented the first webinar in its free Educational Equity Indicators Professional Learning series,\u00a0How to Improve Student Attendance & Engagement: Stories from the South<\/em><\/strong>. The series crosswalks important research findings with examples from the field to help educators and policymakers gain a better understanding of how to address chronic absenteeism. Educators from Nashville, TN, and Columbia, SC, shared practical examples that demonstrate how the long-term impact of the pandemic continues.<\/p>\n

Chronic absence is marked by a child missing 10% or more of the days in a school year for any reason, according to the SEAC. Frequent absences are deeply tied to education inequities for students, further exacerbated by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Senior Advisor for the EAC-South Donna Elam shared a National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report in 2019 that identified two categories of educational-equity indicators: disparities in student outcomes and disparities in student access to opportunities and resources. Chronic absenteeism is one of the indicators of disparities in student outcomes \u2013 because most don\u2019t learn at high levels when they aren\u2019t in school.<\/p>\n

During the webinar, Irmo High School Vice Principal Jessica Marze explained how they used data, observation and recommendations to identify the issues impacting their students\u2019 attendance. The Irmo High School student focus process lays out how they communicate, monitor and evaluate their students in order to resolve these issues and increase parental involvement.<\/p>\n

Warner Elementary School Principal Ricki Gibbs also shared his new approach to address chronic absenteeism at his Tennessee school, the Warner Exchange. With Principal Gibbs\u2019 approach, for each day a child attends school, he or she receives five Warner bucks. Parents can use the accumulated Warner bucks to \u201cshop\u201d in a store located in an upstairs room of the East Nashville school. The store was stocked full of household cleaning supplies, groceries, and other goods donated by local churches, community members and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Warner, we have worked extremely hard to reduce chronic absenteeism,\u201d said Regina Etter, the director of magnet schools at Metro Nashville Public Schools, during the webinar. \u201cWe are building up that community within the home and it is absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reducing chronic absences requires addressing the challenges that keep students from getting to school. The Warner Exchange is a prime example, addressing the connection between students missing school and families\u2019 need for basic necessities. The Warner Exchange also allows the school to support its community and provides students and their families with a reason to prioritize school attendance.<\/p>\n

The webinar was the first for the EAC-South since the federally funded center arrived at the Southern Education Foundation. The center\u2019s series of free professional development events for educators, provides opportunities for discussion, and useful frameworks, strategies and promising practices for improving and monitoring student success and strengthening educational opportunities for all students.<\/p>\n

Presenters:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n