EVALUATING A MULTI-MODAL INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING ATTENDANCE AMONG ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN A TITLE I SCHOOL

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the outcome of an action research-oriented, multi-modal intervention intended to lessen chronic student absenteeism among students in Grade 1 through Grade 3 within a Title I district in North Carolina. The theory of action was that if the perception of the value of early education held by parents of chronically absent students was sharpened and the children themselves were (a) engaged positively as individuals on a daily basis with a specific adult and (b) rewarded for being present at school, then the children would attend school more consistently as evidenced by the school attendance records. Chronic absenteeism was a national problem among both high school and elementary school students. Anecdotal evidence suggests that absenteeism has worsened since the advent of COVID-19. The inherent complexity of absenteeism makes it even more challenging to address. Students in poverty were most susceptible to being chronically absent, thus widening the achievement gaps between them and their non-economically challenged peers. Researchers have suggested that parents' beliefs about the value of early education contribute to students' attendance patterns. The three-pronged intervention I implemented in this case study began by ascertaining parents' perceptions schoolwide of the value of schooling, focusing on a small number of children who are chronically absent and inviting their parents to enter into an ongoing dialog with me throughout the intervention during which their children engage positively on a daily basis with an adult in the school environment and were rewarded for consistent attendance.