Student absenteeism is a persistent concern in K-12 education. Not only are the negative academic and social consequences of excessive absenteeism well documented, but states, districts, and schools are increasingly being held accountable for student attendance. As research indicates that disruptions in students' learning contexts may exacerbate…

This study explores how two schools serve students who are in danger of or have already experienced the school-to-prison pipeline. The majority of students at these schools faced significant setbacks in traditional settings (e.g., truancy, poor grades, suspension, expulsion, incarceration). At each charter school, the free and reduced lunch…

Intended for counselors, the document offers guidelines for identifying nonattendance in primary grade students. Sections outline procedures for analyzing attendance patterns, signs of nonattendance for teachers to look for, actions to take when nonattendance is identified, types of nonattendance (such as chronic illnesses, overprotective parent,…

A computerized attendance system is presented that includes immediate access to attendance records and allows same-day notification to parents of a child's absence. The system, used at Carson City High School (Nevada), is broken down into five chronological steps, generating several possible attendance updates during the day: (1) compiling a…

The problem of truancy and irregular school attendance is widespread in urban, suburban, and rural school districts. The media have interesting and far-reaching capabilities for combating this problem. Possible uses of the print media in this area include posters, bumper stickers, billboards, leaflets and flyers, handouts, buttons, T-shirts,…

Absenteeism is expensive in terms of academic achievement, economic loss to school districts, and teacher efficiency. Most importantly, however, truancy is expensive because it is a lost opportunity to rehabilitate a large number of distressed youngsters. A number of studies have demonstrated that schools are not equipped in either organization or…

This paper discusses the image of the "Ibasyo" or psychologically comfortable space of children not attending school. It suggests that psychological healthiness is dependent upon whether or not an individual has his or her individual space. The images of psychologically comfortable space through the "circle, triangle, and…

Findings of a study that examined the effect of a computer-assisted absence registration system (ARS) on student truancy are presented in this paper. A pre- and post-test group design compared the truancy levels of 30 secondary schools in 4 large cities in western Holland who participated in the ARS program with those of 19 nonparticipating…

School psychologists as consultants can provide valuable services to the school organization by developing interventions for truancy. Traditionally, truancy has been viewed as a discipline referral rather than a psychological referral, with the consequences predominantly punitive in nature and ineffectual. A variety of approaches to improving…

The Truants' Alternative and Optional Education Program was developed to provide preventative, interventive, and remedial services to keep students from becoming chronic truants, and as an educational option for students who had dropped out or who were at risk of dropping out of school due to academic deficiencies. The program, implemented in the…

In the United Kingdom social workers perform two major functions: they work with students with behavior problems who have been referred to them by schools as a last resort, and they ensure that needy students receive benefits such as clothing, maintenance allowances, boarding school assistance, and transportation to and from school. These services…

This study examines middle school teachers', absentee students', and their parents' perceptions of factors related to excessive school absences; perceptions of the degree to which they think they can contribute a solution to the problem; and expectations regarding one another's responsibility for the problem. Data was obtained from middle school…

Risk factors associated with the unsuccessful discharge from a secondary-level therapeutic day treatment program of students with serious emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) were studied. The use of epidemiologic analysis as a program evaluation method was also investigated by comparing risks associated with identified characteristics of the…

This paper offers profiles of females with behavioral/emotional disorders and suggests that these young women have unique needs. The paper discusses selected characteristics and assessment considerations and offers recommendations that will facilitate more responsive social, correctional, and educational programming. Characteristics of these young…

This report describes two studies completed by the Child Advocacy Commission of Durham, North Carolina. The Durham school system has one of the lowest retention rates of any system in the state. The studies were used to advocate for and help implement new and better dropout prevention strategies in their schools. The report also outlines the need…