Absenteeism Affects Student Academic Performance
The John H. Finley School, P.S. 129M
Jennifer Tyler
INTRODUCTION
During the pandemic chronic absenteeism in New York City schools has dropped to alarming rates. Approximately 40% of public school children are not attending school regularly. In our school attendance percentages continue to fall below daily attendance regulations of at least 90%. It is a chronic problem that negatively affects our students' lives, their educational experience and how well they achieve in school. Students in our school are missing so much school that they are at risk of attending summer school or repeating the grade.
TASK
You will work with a team to research the problem of poor attendance in our school. As a team you will analyze the problem of absenteeism using the PPA Model. Your team will brainstorm a way to motivate students to come to school. Once completed the team will deliver an oral presentation to the class and each team member will complete an individual project to submit.
PROCESS
The team will work together in groups of 4 students to read and research the various factors that contribute to students not attending school. Each team member of the group will be responsible for performing one of the roles listed below to complete the tasks. First the teams will read the following articles. Then the team will use and complete the PPA worksheets to organize and record the information they discuss. The team should define the problem, gather evidence about the problem, Identify the causes of the problem, and evaluate the existing policy. Your group will then brainstorm solutions to help motivate students to come to school and improve their attendance. Your partnership will deliver and share with your class your findings through a 3-5 minute oral presentation. Each individual student will submit one of the following projects.
Poster Flyer rap song poem
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Team Member Responsibility |
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RECORDER
● Does all the writing for the group project ● Fills out any forms/worksheets for the group ● Helps clean up |
SPEAKER
● Presents project to class ● Talks with teacher about questions or problems the group has ● Helps clean up |
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QUALITY CONTROLLER
● Makes sure group discussion and work are of highest standards and meets project criteria ● Decides the amount of time is spent on each task ● Helps clean up
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MATERIAL MANAGER
● Collects and returns supplies for group ● Cares for the supplies the groups uses ● Organizes the group cleanup |
Read and discuss the following articles
· https://nypost.com/2022/04/02/chronic-absenteeism-in-nyc-public-schools-hits-alarming-40/
· https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/10-facts-about-school-attendance/
· https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/school_attendance_is_tied_to_academic_achievement
· https://www.edutopia.org/article/two-step-process-reducing-chronic-absenteeism
· https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/us/school-absence-attendance-rate-covid.html
· https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/school-environment/attendance
Links to PPA Worksheets
1. Define the Problem: Worksheet#1
2. Gather the Evidence: Worksheet #2
3. Identify the Causes: Worksheet #3
4. Evaluate an Existing Policy: Worksheet #4
5. Develop Solutions: Worksheet #5
6. Select the Best Solution: Worksheet#6 (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)
EVALUATION
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RUBRIC: Student wrote a rap or song about a way to improve student attendance. |
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4 |
Student used their imagination and creatively wrote detailed descriptions in a song, rap, or poem; Ideas are clear and focused on improving students’ attendance; All facts about improving attendance are accurate; No errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization |
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3 |
Student used their imagination and creatively wrote detailed descriptions in a song, rap, or poem; Ideas are clear, but information about improving attendance is general; Most facts are accurate; Few errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization |
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2 |
Student used their imagination to include some creative details in a song, rap, or poem; their ideas are somewhat clear, but lack supporting information about improving student attendance; Some of the facts are accurate; Some errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization |
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1 |
Student work shows little evidence of creativity or imagination; Main idea is not clear and does not have information about how to improve student attendance; Little to no facts are accurate; Many errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization |
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RUBRIC: Student created a flyer or poster to show a way to improve student attendance |
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4 |
Details on flyer poster includes important information and a way to improve student attendance; All drawings/graphics are related to the topic; layout and design are organized and clear to read; No errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization |
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3 |
Details on flyer/poster includes important information, but may be general; Drawings/graphics relate to the topic; Layout and design are mostly organized and clear to read; Few errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization |
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2 |
Details on flyer/poster relates to the topic, but are to general or incomplete; All drawings/graphics relate to the topic, but the layout and design is somewhat disorganized; Some errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization |
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1 |
Details on flyer/poster do not relate of does not have anything to do with improving student attendance; Layout and design is disorganized, unclear and/or too small to read; Many errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization |
Conclusion
Great, you are at the end of the WebQuest. You were given this task to help you learn and understand the problems associated with poor attendance and the levels of achievement students make. In addition, you developed solutions to this problem to share with your school community.
Resources
· https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/school-environment/attendance
· https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03028
· https://www.understood.org/en/articles/chronic-absenteeism-what-you-need-to-know
· https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/improve-school-attendance
· Handouts for Families - Attendance Works
· https://schools.lifetouch.com/12-tips-school-culture/
Standards
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text
Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and communicate ideas and information clearly.
Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aid comprehension.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details