Research has shown that truancy is frequently associated with juvenile crime and dropping out of school altogether. With the high dropout rate in the U.S. and the No Child Left Behind Act holding schools accountable for their dropout rates, it is essential for school social workers to contribute to their schools' improvement plan in meeting annual yearly progress benchmarks. This book, by well respected researchers and practitioners who have extensive experience with truancy, covers best practices in truancy at the community, school, and student/family levels of interventions. It provides an essential everyday reference guide to research-based programs and truancy program implementation. Beginning with an introduction to the essentials of truancy, its causes and consequences, and state and federal legislation, the authors then give readers a snapshot of what research has shown to work so far and what adaptations might look like in various school settings. Richly detailed case examples illustrate multiple levels of intervention, from the school-wide prevention and general policy levels to remedial interventions, including culturally competent approaches. Eminently practical and easily accessible, with sample forms, methods of measuring outcomes, ideas for funding, take-away points, and digestible research summaries, this will be a trusted toolkit for school professionals seeking to reduce their schools' dropout rates and improve students' engagement with school. School-based practitioners and student trainees alike will find a wealth of reliable information about what is seemingly an intractable problem. They can immediately begin implementing the proven and promising practices presented in this practical guide.

This book describes the fifteen strategies identified through research reviewed by The National Dropout Prevention Center and Network at Clemson University. Each chapter in this book was written by a nationally recognized authority in that field. Research has shown that these 15 strategies have been successfully implemented in all school levels from K - 12 in rural, suburban, and urban centers; as stand-alone programs or as part of systemic school improvement plans. Helping Students Graduate: A Strategic Approach to Dropout Prevention also covers No Child Left Behind and its effects on dropout rates; Dealing with Hispanic dropouts; Differences and similarities between rural and urban dropouts. These fifteen strategies have been adopted by the U.S. Department of Education. They are applicable to all students, including students with disabilities.

This quick-reference laminated guide by Sharon Bradley examines the widespread problem of chronic absenteeism in schools, from why students fail to show up to school, to how to prevent excessive absences, to how to find missing students and re-engage them so that they are able to get back on track and ultimately graduate and reach their full potential. Topics covered include implications and impact of chronic absenteeism; essential practices for building a positive school climate; tiered intervention strategies for teachers, school counselors, nurses, and administrators; absenteeism prevention strategies for families; engaging the community to prevent chronic absenteeism; student recovery and re-engagement strategies; intensive school-based interventions: small restorative learning environments; intensive district-level interventions: the attendance review board; individualized family support plans.

Teachers and governments all agree that if you wish to raise educational standards then it’s imperative to improve school attendance, and yet an average of around ten per cent of secondary pupils are missing school on a daily basis. Despite governments around the globe trying to address this situation, any improvements have been negligible and improvements in school attendance have been stubbornly hard to achieve. As an internationally recognised expert on this topic, Professor Ken Reid offers workable, practical solutions to help schools improve attendance and to reduce non-attendance and truancy at government level, school and local authority level, individual pupil level and at the family level. Underpinned by the very latest research, but expanded upon with an accessible, practitioner focus, the issues covered by this topical text include: The causes of non-attendance and truancy Successful interventions and the evidence from research Reflections on the attempts to find national solutions Implementing home-school solutions An agenda for the future Supporting throughout with case-studies and workable solutions to the most demanding of situations, this book will be essential reading for head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers and any educational professional eager to raise standards for all.

In Absent from School, Gottfried and Hutt offer a comprehensive and timely resource for educators and policy makers seeking to understand the scope, impact, and causes of chronic student absenteeism. The editors present a series of studies by leading researchers from a variety of disciplines that address which students are missing school and why, what roles schools themselves play in contributing to or offsetting patterns of absenteeism, and ways to assess student attendance for purposes of school accountability. The contributors examine school-based initiatives that focus on a range of issues, including transportation, student health, discipline policies, and protections for immigrant students, as well as interventions intended to improve student attendance. Only in the past two or three years has chronic absenteeism become the focus of attention among policy makers, civil rights advocates, and educators. Absent from School provides the first critical, systematic look at research that can inform and guide those who are working to ensure that every child is in school and learning every day.