Starting Outline

First, thank you for the encouraging thoughts.

Here is what I have as my outline for my action research so far.

What do we want to accomplish:
· We want to figure out which students miss most frequently.· We must determine why they are missing.
· We need to monitor all students’ attendance while focusing on the determined at-risk students.
· We must develop a procedure that allows us to take action on issues in an appropriate time frame.
· We must develop a system to change the behavior of the students that frequently miss.
· We must analyze the data we receive through attendance reports to determine which interventions are most effective.
Activities to be conducted to help us reach our goal:
· The attendance committee will meet to analyze attendance data in order to identify at-risk students.
· Secretaries, counselors and campus administrators will meet to develop attendance management protocol.
· Attendance committee will help set the action plan for deficiencies.
· The assistant principal will monitor attendance and take necessary action when needed.
· The attendance committee will meet to evaluate student attendance each six weeks tying performance to attendance.
· Attendance committee will make necessary modifications to the action plan and the assistant principal will make adjustments to the consequences.
Resources and tools:
· Attendance protocol of other districts with high attendance rates should be studied.
· Professional journals· The most important tool will be the attendance reports generated weekly.
· Home visits will be an important tool in this process.
Timeline:
· Before the start of school we must – create an attendance committee, analyze last years data and develop a system to monitor attendance.
· Weekly during the year we must – run an attendance report and look for issues while keeping a cumulative total.
· At the end of each six weeks we must – meet as a committee to discuss progress or problems as well as make any adjustments to the protocol.
· At the end of the semester – a report will be generated breaking down groups, grades and overall attendance with the goal being a 96% attendance rate and improved passing rates.
· During the second semester – the same process will be followed ending in a year end report with the same goals.
Person responsible for the implementation:
· The assistant principal will lead the attendance committee and will monitor the weekly attendance reports.
· The principal and assistant principal will determine the new daily attendance process while consulting the counselors and secretaries.
· The attendance committee (not yet selected), led by the assistant principal, will generate six weeks, semester and yearly attendance reports.
Process for monitoring goals:
· Data will be broken down each six weeks.
· The percentage of each group’s attendance will be reviewed.
· The attendance of each individual student targeted before the year will be reviewed.
· Reports will be cumulative and reported to the principal and superintendent.
Assessment instrument:
· Our assessment instrument will be data generated from attendance reports. We will use the attendance rate to determine success and possible adjustments.
· We will also look at the time table from when an issue occurs to when it reaches the assistant principal’s desk as well as when it is acted on.