88th Annual CASCWA State Conference

Every missed school day is a lost opportunity, yet most attendance strategies fail because they rely on compliance over connection. In this session, Hugo Lopez will reveal how Ontario-Montclair School District cracked the code using a data-driven systems approach that doesn’t just track absences—it changes behaviors. Through real-world success stories and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to design an attendance system that engages families, mitigates barriers, and transforms outcomes.

Learn how to make the most of a SART meeting at your site to explore barriers to attendance and engage students, staff, and family members in effectively identifying and committing to interventions to address barriers.

Taking a closer look into Sequoia Union High School District’s (SUHSD) planning and development of a secondary student engagement service structure. This session will include perspectives from both district and site levels on the development and implementation of SUHSD’s tiered interventions to address the often complicated barriers to high school student engagement. SUHSD is a 2024 Model SARB awardee.

When Roseville City School District saw chronic absenteeism spike from 6% to 26% after the pandemic, they knew they needed a transformative approach. In this interactive session, district leaders will share how they revolutionized their attendance processes, resulting in a dramatic 50% reduction in chronic absenteeism and a 4-point increase in ADA within just two years. Learn how they shifted from manual tracking to a data-driven system that empowered staff to have meaningful conversations about attendance. Presenters will detail their "Every Day Matters" campaign, showcase their communication approach for different grade levels, and demonstrate how they built a culture where all 1,300+ staff members are committed to attendance improvement. Walk away with practical strategies for implementing a similar transformation in your district.
Takeaways:

1. How to design and launch a differentiated attendance communication campaign that targets specific grade levels and attendance patterns with relevant messaging and support strategies
2. Practical steps for shifting attendance conversations from technical reporting to meaningful family support, including specific questions and talking points for staff to use during interventions
3. Strategies for building school-wide ownership of attendance goals, with examples of how to engage all staff members - from teachers to clerical staff - in consistent, data-informed attendance monitoring and intervention

This presentation will lay out how to partner with schools and districts to first prevent and reduce truancy and chronic absence without law enforcement involvement. I will cover best practices, district-wide attendance messaging, and how to effectively communicate with parents about absences. I will also cover how to establish and run an effective collaborative truancy court, that both supports parents who are struggling with a crisis leading to their child's truancy, and encourages accountability of the parents in order to achieve improved attendance rates.

A student's truancy journey begins at their school site. We often have a well-established SARB process at the district level, but what preventative steps exist at the site level? Who do we engage? What does the SART process look like prior to the student being referred to the district-level SARB?

Next, we will explore the SARB process, which must follow various compliance aspects and there are many facets to a successful program. Participants will explore the legal aspects of SARB, learn step-by-step aspects of a successful SARB program, explore implementation procedures, and evaluate their site and/or district SARB process. Participants will walk away with tools to immediately implement when they return to their site and/or district.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a function of general education.  As a result, many of the general education staff responsible for implementing the Section 504 requirements lack the specialized training typically associated with special education, even though there are comparable procedural requirements as those found in special education.  This training provides an overview of the Section 504 process, including eligibility, assessment, and child find requirements.  This training is ideal for Section 504 Coordinators and any staff responsible for implementing Section 504 at school sites.

System-impacted students need ways to build a sense of belonging, agency, and academic identity through meaningful relationships. However, many adult practices are disconnected from students’ best interests and are based on a system that is not designed for marginalized youth to successfully graduate. Upon recognizing this disconnect, Oakland Unified School District leaders came together across departments to address these issues and focus on equity.

This interactive presentation will offer experiential learning on OUSD’s journey by highlighting the value of student-centered design, exploring student-led research strategies to address chronic absenteeism, and unpacking student well-being and relationship data.

Chronic absenteeism poses a significant obstacle to student success and overall academic performance. Nevertheless, through strategic partnerships and expanded learning initiatives, schools can effectively confront this challenge and cultivate a culture of consistent attendance and active participation.

In this interactive workshop, participants will delve into the innovative approaches spearheaded by the Garvey School District in collaboration with expanded learning provider, Woodcraft Rangers. Together, they have established a comprehensive network of support and opportunities aimed at engaging and retaining students. From developing community and culturally tailored programs to providing immediate assistance for unhoused or foster youth, the partnership between Garvey and Woodcraft has capitalized on their respective strengths to optimize student engagement.