Student absenteeism: Strategies and Solutions
Student non-attendance is one of the early warning signs of dropping out of school.
Identifying the difference between chronic and occasion truancy is the
key to finding precise interventions with families and students.
Breaking the cycle of non- attendance and re-engaging students in the
life of the school is essential in addressing this problem.
Mobilizing community support is often a necessary solution to ensure
success.
Who Should Attend?
District office staff, school teams, principals, vice-principals, teachers and counsellors.
Participants will learn:
- how bad is the problem of chronic non-attendance
- defining chronic vs. occasional non-attendance
- identifying community, family, student and school factors that contribute
- how to conduct a school case study
- specific strategies for engaging students
- personalized learning – what it is and how to do it
- family engagement – how to increase it
Specific intervention strategies:
- Check and Connect
- District based teams
- Community based teams
Denis recently retired as District Principal of Student Support with the Greater
Victoria School District where he helped develop structures and strategies
that reduced dropouts by 50% and increased grade 11 to 12 transition by
10%. Denis has 25 years of experience as an educational leader and has taught at the University
and College levels, and has presented at provincial and national conferences.
