Attendance Counts TA
Attendance Counts can provide technical assistance and advice for communities seeking to track and address chronic absence and for advocates seeking systemic reform. Where possible, we will leverage our existing funding to offer these services for free. If the work is more involved, we can also provide assistance on a fee-for-service basis or work together to generate additional funds.
Toolkits
We can provide toolkits to help groups assess current attendance policies, analyze chronic absence data and use this data as part of their planning for federal grants.
State Campaigns
We can offer advice to organizations and champions interested in developing statewide campaigns about effective strategies for establishing a network of advocacy groups and the best approaches to effect policy change.
Communications Assistance
Attendance Counts can provide state advocacy groups or school districts pushing for policy change with opinion pieces and letters to the editors. We can also help develop policy briefs that argue for reform.
Expert Testimony
Attendance Counts can not lobby for legislation, but director Hedy N. Chang can testify before a full committee or governing board as an expert on the problem of chronic absence and talk about solutions that other communities have developed. She can give PowerPoint presentations to education conferences and civic groups.
Chronic Absence Analysis
Attendance Counts can assess what data is available and how easy it would be to secure. We can provide districts with guidelines about how they can conduct their own analysis or connect them to researchers who could be contracted to conduct the analysis. We can offer assistance in preparing a PowerPoint and report about the results.
Professional Development
Attendance Counts can train educators and community organizations on how to analyze chronic absence data and develop the right interventions tailored to a particular school or neighborhood.
State Policy Scan
Attendance Counts can conduct or facilitate a scan of state policies to determine regulatory or legislative barriers to tracking chronic absence and what opportunities exist to remove these barriers. We can also identify best practices among school districts in the state.
We are developing a network of teachers, administrators, community advocates and associations across the country that can offer advice on reducing chronic absence. To tap into this network, fill out this form and we will connect you with resources in your area.