Chronic early absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10% of the days of the school year, that is, having an attendance below 90%, which can have a severe impact in the future. Learn how the Ramón Barros Luco Industrial High School tackled this problem and achieved the highest average attendance of the schools in our platform, with 95.2%.
The chronic absenteeism (have an attendance less than 90% ) can have very negative consequences on student performance is a problem that should not be taken lightly. The results of a study conducted in Chile by the Oportunidad Foundation show that in pre-school, more than 66% of students suffer from chronic absenteeism . He says:
" The main effects of absenteeism in early childhood, are associated with worse results in mathematics and language in 1st and 5th grade, but also with problems of self-esteem and socialization , which can also be related to long-term effects, such as school dropout and failure academic, among others . "(Fundación Oportunidad, 2015).
We went to see the case of the Ramón Barros Luco Industrial Liceo , where in 2017 there were 130 cases of chronic absenteeism. Although the average total attendance of the high school was 92%, looking more closely, they realized that there were many students who had less than 85% attendance (minimum required by the Ministry of Education). We were received by their director Iris del Carmen Verdugo , who after reading the study of the Oportunidad Foundation took it as a personal task to improve attendance at the school.
We talked with her to find out how they managed to improve attendance with such good results.
1. Value student attendance
The first thing Iris emphasizes, is to create a culture around the importance of student participation, so that both teachers and students understand the negative impact of missing classes. In the short term, the absence brings problems of socialization to the students. Students fall behind and are unsure of how to get caught up or are overwhelmed by the amount of work required.
2. Be consistent
The second key to handling assistance according to Iris, is perseverance. "We have been very consistent with the issue of assistance, it is not an isolated activity . Monthly, or sometimes every 15 days , we review the evolution of the figures." The director highlighted that when reviewing Kimche's reports, he immediately realized where the problem was because they are very visual. For example, he noticed that the IVºA had a notoriously lower attendance on Tuesdays. When investigating what happened on Tuesdays that caused this rise in non-attendance, he was able to detect a problem that there was at the course level with a particular group of students who were struggling in that particular course. In another situation, he noticed that the IºA was missing a lot on Thursdays. It turned out that it was an academically very "heavy" day for particular students, so they considered ways to restructure the schedule to better support student needs.
3. Highlight the positive
Third important factor according to Iris, is not only to focus on students with low attendance, but also to highlight and congratulate the students with good attendance (over 97% is considered outstanding). At the anniversary ceremony of the Ramón Barros Luco Industrial Liceo, with the representatives present, they awarded a diploma to all students with 100% attendance , which was more than 150 (out of a total of 760 students). On another occasion they sent a letter to all students with outstanding assistance, where they recognized them for their responsibility, dedication and commitment, and their families for providing the necessary support.
4. Communication
Fourth, communication is very important . "We asked for the help of the chief teachers, who in their weekly hour of attention of parents focused on calling the parents of these missing children", said Iris. As stated before, it is good to communicate both with the parents of the students with outstanding attendance and with those who are at risk of repeating due to absence or who present chronic absenteeism.
5. Set concrete goals
Finally, a factor that determined the high percentage of attendance of Liceo Industrial Barros Luco, was to set specific goals both at school level and per student . Having an attendance of 92%, they proposed to raise it to 94%, and achieved 95.2% . This was achieved through letters of commitment to the students, which established that although the Ministry requests a minimum 85%, missing more than 10% of the school year already involved a risk in several ways, so that students they had to commit to meet at least 92% attendance.
"The most important thing is to create for these children a culture of assistance , which we clearly have as a mission. We are preparing them to go to the world of work , it is a very good practice that they understand now that assistance does matter , in school and at work . It is a culture that has to be developed, that will impact for good throughout its life ".
Many thanks to Iris del Carmen Verdugo for their advice, and congratulations to the Liceo Industrial Ramón Barros Luco for their excellent results in attendance.