Excessive student absenteeism among ninth graders was a major problem within a metropolitan Georgia high school. In order to solve the attendance problem and several other academic concerns, the school administration implemented a smaller learning community for ninth grade students. The Ninth Grade Academy concept implemented at the beginning of…

(Purpose) This study contributes to the knowledge base about strategies for helping disconnected youth re-engage with schooling. The study presents findings of a rigorous impact evaluation of the Good Shepherd Services (GSS) Transfer School Model that is grounded in developmental theory positing that social and emotional factors are essential to…

With the current emphasis on accountability in kindergarten through twelfth-grade education, greater demands have been placed on school social workers. In fact, many federal, state, and school officials are demanding the use of evaluative outcome research that demonstrates the potential impact of supportive services. The present study examined the…

Absence data from the Follow Through program in 18 Philadelphia public schools over the 1974-75 school year are presented according to grade, model and total program. The report, covering grades K-3, examines both overall absence patterns and differences in absence patterns of pupils with and without previous Head Start or equivalent experience.…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

Because a large number of nonattending students had been retained in the first three grades, a nongraded or pass-fail system in early elementary grades was recommended to reduce the negative impact of failure on student performance. Incentives for attendance were also suggested. (JMF)

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based court intervention aimed at reducing truancy in a large urban school district. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess attendance outcomes for 567 truants matched on demographics and drawn from three categories of intervention (no court referral, traditional court referral, and…

Using 1976-77 data on truants aged 14 and under in Sheffield, England, this study examined characteristics of poor attenders and compared the effects on subsequent school attendance of three intervention strategies: calling parents before a school attendance board; prosecuting parents in magistrates court; or taking action through juvenile court.…