Attendance
Overview for
School
Administrators
Vincent Dioguardi
Attendance Content Expert
Queens Integrated Service
Center
ATTENDANCE LAW AND POLICY
Chancellor’s Regulation A-210
ATTENDANCE LAW
Children between the ages of 6 through 21 have the right to a free public
education.
Children between the ages of 6 through the completion of the school year in which
they turn 17 are required to attend school.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Student attendance must be recorded and tracked daily.
Student absences must be followed up with telephone calls, letters/postcards or
home visits. Schools must make every effort to ensure the regular attendance of
students and to address any problems or issues that inhibit regular attendance.
Students who are being discharged or transferred to programs that will not result in
a regular high school diploma must be provided with counseling about their
educational options and must be informed of their right to return to school through
the school year in which they turn 21.
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Analysis of an 80% Attendance Rate
•185 School Days
•80 % present
•Days Present (80% of 185) = 148 days
•# of Days Absent = 37 days
•Average Monthly School Days 19
•Translates to about 2 months of school
3
Staff Roles and Responsibilities in the
Attendance Program
Principal
•Ensures that the school has a functioning attendance program and monitors its effectiveness
•Ensures that the school complies with all regulations regarding attendance
•Establishes an attendance committee and holds regular attendance team meetings
•Sets goals and monitors attendance trends
Attendance Coordinator
•Supervises the day-to-day activities of the members of the attendance team
•Makes sure that processes are in place for daily tracking of attendance and follow-up on all
open 407’s
•Develops incentive programs for the school
•Reviews all attendance data and meets with the attendance team members and the principal
to discuss attendance issues.
•Ensures that all cases of educational neglect are reported and are appropriately followed-up
4
Staff Roles and Responsibilities in the
Attendance Program
•Meets
with the attendance teacher to review the outcome of investigations and resolution of
any open 407’s
Attendance Teacher
•Monitors student attendance and follows-up on cases of non attendance
•Makes home visits and assists in resolving cases that cannot be resolved at the school level
•Acts as a resource to schools on attendance matters
•Meets with the attendance coordinator to review status of open cases and attendance data
•Meets with students regarding attendance
•Reports cases of educational neglect
•Participates in school attendance committee meetings
•Conducts all “address unknown” investigations
•Assists in training school staff on attendance procedures
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Staff Roles and Responsibilities in the
Attendance Program
Guidance Counselor

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

Meets with students regarding attendance issues
Conducts planning interviews
Participates in the school’s attendance committee meetings
May function as the attendance coordinator under the principal’s direction
Family Assistant



Conducts the initial investigation on all open 407’s
Visits the homes of students who are absent
Updates ATS
School Aide



Makes initial telephone calls
Sends letters to homes of absentee students
Generates ATS reports
Parent Coordinator

Works with the attendance team in contacting parents
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ELEMENTS OF ATTENDANCE
ADMITTING
CLASS ASSIGNMENT
SCHEDULING
- Guidance Counselors
- Program Chair
-Pupil Accounting Sec.
DATA ENTRY/
REPORTING
REPORT
ANALYSIS
•Teachers
▪ Principal
•Guidance
Counselors
▪ A P’s
•Attendance
Coordinator
▪ Attendance
Committee
•School Aides
•Outreach Staff
•Attendance Teacher
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COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PROGRAM
 Identify absent students on a daily basis and make home contact
 Clear registers in September
 Ensure accuracy of telephone numbers and contact information
 Establish a working attendance committee
 Monitor school attendance rate daily
 Compare attendance rates with attendance rates of previous year
 Set attendance goals
 Make attendance a priority
 Get the school staff involved in attendance improvement
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BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO YOUR ATTENDANCE PROGRAM
MAKE ATTENDANCE A PRIORITY
WHERE’S MY
RSAL
REPORT?!
IS SCANNING
COMPLETED?!!
ATTENDANCE
COMMITTEE
MEETING AT 8
O’CLOCK
HOW’S
ATTENDANCE?
!
HOW MANY
CLASSES HAD
100%
ATTENDANCE?
WERE
ABSENTEE
STUDENTS
CALLED
TODAY?!
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SET GOALS AND FOCUS ON SPECIFIC
TARGETS
CONSTANTLY REVIEW AND RE-ASSESS THE ATTENDANCE PROGRAM
IS IT WORKING?
WHY OR WHY NOT?
IS ATTENDANCE IMPROVING?
WHAT NEEDS CHANGING?
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BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO YOUR ATTENDANCE PROGRAM
PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR EXCELLENT AND
IMPROVED ATTENDANCE
Make improving attendance fun!!
Have competitions.
 Display pictures of students with excellent and improved attendance.
 Announce names of students with good attendance.
Give out certificates; discuss good attendance at assemblies.
Create a nurturing environment (even in large schools).
 Make it personal, ask students why they were absent.
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BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO YOUR ATTENDANCE PROGRAM

Raise consciousness of staff and students

Discuss attendance improvement approaches on a
regular basis

Share attendance data and percentages with
staff
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IMPLEMENT ALL DISCHARGES
IMMEDIATELY
STUDENTS WHO ARE TO BE DISCHARGED REMAIN ON THE SCHOOL
REGISTER UNTIL THE PUPIL ACCOUNTING SECRETARY IMPLEMENTS
THE DISCHARGE
SCHEDULE MEETINGS OF THE SCHOOL
ATTENDANCE TEAM ONCE A WEEK OR MORE
 ASSIGN AN ATTENDANCE COORDINATOR TO EFFECTIVELY
OVERSEE THE PROGRAM.
 COMMUNICATE AND DOCUMENT ALL INFORMATION.
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407 PROCEDURES
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ATTENDANCE REFERRAL TRAIL
Attendance is scanned daily. The
following ATS reports are
generated to ensure all
attendance has been recorded:
(RCUA) Cumulative Absence,
RNOC (Non-Compliance) and
(RRAI) Retroactive Attendance.
Scan sheets and Change of
Attendance forms are filed.
If the school cannot resolve the
case after all interventions, the
407 is forwarded to the
attendance teacher.
When a student is absent,
parent/guardian is contacted by
telephone. Letters or postcards are
mailed to the home. If the student does
not return to school, a Form 407
automatically generates after 10
consecutive days of absence or 8
consecutive for a repeat 407 or 20
aggregated days after a 4 month period.
The attendance teacher contacts the
home and works with the school and
family to resolve the case.
If the case can be resolved,
the 407 is closed at the
school level. All 407s
closed at the school must
be reviewed and signed by
the attendance coordinator.
The attendance teacher
returns the closed/ resolved
407 to the school. The
school closes out the 407 on
the ATS system on the U407
file.
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Generation of Form 407 and
Attendance Procedures
INITIAL REVIEW AND FOLLOW UP BY THE SCHOOL
REFERRAL OF FORM 407 TO THE ATTENDANCE TEACHER
• The parent is called after first day of absence. If the parent cannot
be contacted, the school should reach out to other persons listed on
emergency contact card.
• All 407s assigned to the attendance teacher must include
documentation of school interventions and efforts to return the student to
school.
• Letters or postcards are sent to the home by day 3 if telephone calls
are unsuccessful.
• The attendance teacher begins to conduct the investigation.
• School staff should be interviewed for information concerning the
student.
• Dates, results, persons contacted and other interventions must be
logged at the school. The ATS ILOG function can be used to track
interventions.
• During the investigation the attendance teacher may be in contact with
school staff as well as outside agencies.
• Upon closure of the case, all contacts and outcomes must be recorded
by the attendance teacher on Form 407.
• The case is then closed using the U407 function in ATS.
• If the attendance issues are resolved, and a 407 generates, the school
may close the 407 using the U407 function in ATS.
• Grades PreK-8 whose 407s have been open for over 10 days must be
completed within 10 days.
• If the case cannot be resolve at the school level, it must be forwarded
to the attendance teacher for further investigation.
Address Unknown discharges, Code 12, must be reviewed and signed by
the principal after the attendance teacher has authorized and completed
the investigation.
Address Unknown discharges must be approved by the Content Area
Expert at the Borough Office.
The Form 407 is filed at the school.
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FORM 407
A Form 407 Attendance Follow-up and Outreach Referral automatically generates at the school under
the following conditions:
a) When a student has been absent for:
· 10 consecutive days
· 20 aggregate days (over a 4 month period)
· 8 consecutive days (if there has been a prior 407)
b) 30 days after a student has been discharged as “Address
Unknown” (Code 12), a second Form 407 generates in order to
re-investigate the status of the discharge to ensure that no new
information concerning the student or family has become available.
c) In September of the new school year, any student who was discharged
during the previous year as “Under 6 Years Old” (Code 04), who will
turn 6 years of age in the current year (by December 31) and does not
appear as active on a school register, requires the generation of a 407
to ensure investigation of his/her status.
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WHEN TO ISSUE A 407
The Form 407 Attendance Follow-up and Outreach Referral may be manually
issued when a home visit or investigation is required, under the following
circumstances:
> a) When a suspended student does not return after the period of
the suspension has ended or when the suspended student does
not appear at a new school placement.
> b) When a special education student authorized to begin attendance
in a new site does not report to the new placement within five (5) days.
> c) When a student has been excluded from school for the failure to
obtain required immunizations or tuberculosis testing.
> d) When it is necessary to conduct an address investigation in order to
confirm the residence of a student.
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MONITOR YOUR ATTENDANCE REPORTS
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ATTENDANCE DATA
There are several management tools available to administrators to assist in monitoring the school’s
attendance program. These tools include:
ATS – A variety of summary attendance reports to assist schools in monitoring school’s
attendance
DSS – Provides current information on student enrollment, attendance and student
performance.
http://dss.nycenet.edu
COGNOS – Provides current and previous attendance percentages and enrollment information
on individual schools.
http://edw.nycboe.net/par
DOE – WIKI- Dashboard – ATS and other school related data for administrators. Use outlook
ID and password to sign-in.
https://wiki.nycenet.edu/login.action
Resource for ATS information:
http://www.nycboe.net/adminorg/Divisions/diit/doclib/catalog.asp?Focus=ATS
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ATS ATTENDANCE REPORTS TO GENERATE
Clearance of Register Report (RCR1)- lists all students absent the first five days of school.
No Show Report (RSNS)- lists all students who have not attended school since the beginning of the
school year.
Non-compliance Report (RNOC)- shows unscanned classes an the dates classes were not scanned.
School Attendance List Report (RSAL)- prints the school’s register, number of students marked
present/release, percentage of students marked present within a date range.
407 Register Report (R4RR)- lists all students for whom a Form 407 was generated and their status.
Cumulative Absence Report (RCUA)- lists all students who were absent for the number of days
specified by the user.
Daily Attendance List (RDAL)- lists students who were absent and late for the day.
21
School Absence Alert
Updated 5-28-08
22
School Absence Alert
Every Monday, schools automatically receive a
“School Absence Alert” that provides a list of
names of students in grades pre-k through 8 who
have 407s open for over 10 days.
23
Revised 407 Procedures
for Students in Grades Pre-K through 8
Schools are to complete the attendance
investigations for pre-k through grade 8 within 10
days after issuance of a 407.
Complete investigation
of all Pre-K – 8 cases
within 10 days
24
Student Intervention
Screen
ILOG
25
NEW STUDENT INTERVENTION SCREEN (ILOG) ON THE ATS SYSTEM
A new function on ATS is being provided that will allow schools to enter on a
screen, the outreach and interventions that have been undertaken by school
staff to return students to school.
Outreach events to be recorded include; telephone calls, mailings, home visits,
and counseling. The school will also be able to enter notations regarding the
outreach.
Principals, assistant principals, guidance counselors, attendance coordinators,
pupil accounting secretaries, attendance office staff, attendance teachers, and
borough center staff will have access to this function.
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ILOG REPORTS
RSIV – Printout of individual student
intervention.
RSSL – School Log Report – Schools can print
ILOG entries for the school year or for
individual months.
RSIO – Open 407 ILOG Entry Report – Can be
sorted by User ID number
ATS – Automatically makes ILOG entries for students
doubt letters.
receiving promotion in
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PLANNING INTERVIEW
Refer to the Planning Interview Process and Procedures in the
Principal’s Weekly, Attendance Memo, 09-09-2008
It is our goal to ensure that all students who are discharged and/or
transferred prior to attainment of a regular high school diploma are
provided with appropriate intervention services, counseling and support
to encourage them to remain in school or to facilitate their return to
school at a future date.
• A planning interview must be provided to all students who leave school
without having attained a diploma.
• Each school with students 16 years of age or older must designate an
assistant principal or identify guidance counselors to conduct the planning
interviews and to be responsible for discharges.
• The principal is responsible for ensuring that all planning interviews are
conducted according to requirements.
• All planning interviews must be approved by the borough Senior Youth
Development Director prior to discharge.
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Discharge/ Transfer Codes
Requiring a Planning Interview
Code
Description and Age Limitations
02
Obtained a full-time employment certificate (for 16 or 17 year olds)
34
Enrolled in a non-DOE business, trade school or other training program
35
Entered military service (for 17 year olds and above)
36
Enrolled in a full-time High School Equivalency Program outside the NYC Public School
System (Includes Job Corps, Community Colleges, etc.)
37
Enrolled in part-time non-DOE part-time GED program (for 17+ year olds)
38
Transferred to a part-time DOE GED program (for 17 year olds and above)
43
Transferred to a full-time DOE GED program
(for 17+ year olds)
(for students turning 17 in the school year and above)
39
Voluntary withdrawals or Discharge after 20 consecutive days of non-attendance (for 17+ year
olds)
41
Voluntary withdrawals due to pregnancy (for 17+ year olds)
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COMPLETION OF THE PLANNING INTERVIEW
After the completion of the planning interview, the parent and student receives the
completed Planning Interview Form, the Planning Interview Packet, the student’s
transcript and Letter #2 if appropriate.
The Senior Youth Development Director receives copies of the Planning Interview
Form, student’s transcript, Letter #1 and Letter #2 if appropriate.
Planning Interview
Form
_________________________
Name of School
PLANNING INTERVIEW
INFORMATION PACKET
________________________
_____________________________
STUDENT
TRANSCRIPT
SUBJ CRSE SECT
DESCRIPTION SCHL YEAR
TERM SCHOOL SCORE P/F
CRED EARND
----------------------------------------------5 FS2+
SPAN YR 1 20022003 A 72X470 080 P 2.00
2.00
6 BB1T 03 ENTRPSH1 20022003 1 72X470 075 P 1.00 1.00
1 E1T 03 ENG 1
2002-2003
1 72X470 070 P 1.00 1.00
9 GG2 01 GRP GUID 2 20022003 1 72X470 075 P 1.00 1.00
2 H5$T 03 AM HIST 1 20022003 1 72X470 070 P 1.00 1.00
3 ME1T 03 COLLMTH1
School Address
_________________________
This form is required for codes:
02,34,35,36,37,38,39,41,43,70
STUDENT INFORMATION
________________________________
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
_______________________________
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
________________________________
ATTENDANCE HISTORY
OUTREACH
SERVICES______________________
2002-2003
1.00 1.00
SUPPORT SERVICES/
PROVIDED______________________
1 72X470 075 P
Letter #2 for either
General Education
or Special
Education
Students
School Letter Head
Date
To: Parent/ Student
Re: ________________
Name of Student
Dear _________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
__________________________
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2007-2008 School Year
PLANNING INTERVIEW REPORTS AND UPDATE FILES ON ATS
The ISC has two reports and one
update file.
REIR-ISC Planning Interview Report:
Shows the status of the planning interview
(awaiting approval, approved, not approved,
cancelled, remained in school, transferred,
plan is missing). Summary by code may also
be selected. This is a statistical report.
REID- Planning Interview Detail Report:
Shows all students that had a planning
interview. A select by status or code is
possible.
UPRD- Planning Interview Update File:
Allows the ISC to approve or disapprove the
planning interviews.
The school has two reports and
two update files.
DPRD- School Display Planning Interview:
Shows the students planning interview status
on screen.
REIS- Planning Interview Status Report:
List all students that had a planning interview.
A select by status or code is possible.
PIES- Planning Interview Entry Screen:
Allows the school to enter all students
transferring to another DOE school, GED
program or evening high school.
DISC- Discharge function: Allows the
school to preliminarily discharge a student
that had a planning interview. Once approval
is obtained from the ISC, the student will be
removed from the school’s register.
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Summary
Set goals for improving attendance
Raise consciousness of all staff members
Conduct regular attendance committee meetings
Provide incentives
Process discharges in a timely manner
Review attendance reports regularly
Complete investigations on time
Conduct planning interviews
Keep accurate attendance
MAKE ATTENDANCE A PRIORITY!
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INTERGRATED SERVICE CENTERS
Queens - ISC
Districts 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Tracey Collins,Senior Youth Development Director
Vincent Dioguardi, Content Area Expert
Bronx ISC
Districts 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Andaye De La Cruz, Senior Youth Development Director
Antonio Guerrero, Content Area Expert
Manhattan ISC
Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Dr. Brian Kaplan, Senior Youth Development Director
Kenneth Lowenstein, Content Area Expert
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INTEGRATED SERVICE CENTERS
Brooklyn ISC
Districts 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 31
Clarence Ellis, Senior Youth Development Director
Kampta Persaud, Content Area Expert
Brooklyn – Staten Island ISC
Districts 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 32
Diane Costagliola, Senior Youth Development Director
Kevin O’Hanlon, Content Area Expert
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