• School attendance includes whole school days, tardies, and early dismissals.  In order to build an efficient and effective intervention system for attendance, universal attendance strategies and practices based on research are utilized.

    Core beliefs:

    • Low attendance is a symptom of a deeper student need. 
    • A systems approach targeting whole-child responsiveness is critical to improving attendance and preventing drop-outs. 
    • Whole-child diagnosis is highly complex and requires a review of current practices and the development of strategic solutions. 
    • Whole-child responsiveness requires the collaboration of families and the community. 
    • The district alone cannot solve our attendance challenges

    STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITY:

    STUDENT
    • Come to school every day prepared to learn.
    • Be on-time for school and your classes.
    • Ask for help. 
    • Be a positive peer. 
    • Engage in afterschool activities.
    • Know as a student you are the number one priority at Sault Schools.

    STUDENT’S FAMILY
    • Get your student(s) to school every day.   
    • Get your student(s) to school on-time. 
    • Check that your student(s) is ready to learn.
    • Encourage your student(s) to come ready to learn. 
    • Ask questions and know your student(s)’s school. 
    • Stay informed with what is happening with your student(s) and their school experience. Attend important events at your student(s)'s school. 
    • Check Parent Portal regularly to stay updated on your student(s)’s progress. 
    • Know you are our partner in your student(s) success.

    TEACHER
    • Expect your students every day. 
    • Expect your students to be on time every day.
    • Be excited about the learning that will happen each day; plan engaging, meaningful instruction. 
    • Have structures in place to respond to tardies, absences and good attendance. 
    • Build positive relationships with students and their families that promote student accountability (behavior, attendance, academics). 
    • Take action when students are tardy or absent.
    • Update Gradebook regularly and on time so families can stay informed as to their student's attendance and grades. 
    • Use your school as a support to handle attendance hurdles.

    SCHOOL
    • Be prepared to greet students every day. 
    • Start the school day on time. 
    • Let no distractions take the school off the goal of learning. 
    • Ensure there are procedures and protocols for all attendance needs, including but not exclusively, tardiness and truancy. 
    • Maintain and be consistent about discipline procedures so student behavior is managed fairly beyond suspensions. 
    • Have a clear, consistent and public attendance policy. 
    • Reinforce the attendance policy regularly and apply it consistently. 
    • Support teachers with resources for struggling students with attendance issues. 
    • Provide engaging clubs, teams and activities that appeal to multiple student interests. 
    • Establish a viable team to respond to attendance needs and to be proactive about data trends. 
    • Review and share data for timely, evidence-based decision making

    COMMUNITY
    • Promote promptness and being present within the workforce
    • Ask to see attendance record on student transcript
    •  Let no distractions take the schools off the goal of learning. 
    • Support a culture of communication for maximizing student attendance. 
    • Promote interagency cooperation to maximize student, family and community engagement in public schools. 
    • Support schools with resources and city services. 
    • Partner with the district to streamline processes to best serve students and their families. 
Last Modified on July 24, 2022