Using data to help guide decisions about increasing student engagement, providing extended learning opportunities, and finding effective ways to communicate with parents and students can help boost attendance rates as students adjust to full-time, in-person learning, panelists said during a Wednesday webinar hosted by Attendance Works and the Institute for Educational Leadership.
The timely analysis of attendance data can pinpoint effective practices, as well as identify barriers to school engagement for individual students and student subgroups. Low attendance rates should be seen as an early warning sign that positive learning conditions are missing, said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works.