IR 2A: Scaling an Effective Chronic Absenteeism Initiative with New Visions for Public Schools

Note: If you attend this session, your lunch will be before this session -- from 11:30-12:30 p.m. -- in the High Tech Elementary Gym ("Round 1 Lunch"). This session focuses on a network effort to reduce chronic absenteeism through consistent 1:1 student check-ins and strengthened attendance systems, while scaling the work from 12 to 25 high schools in New York city. While early pilots showed strong results, data revealed that “future chronically absent” students are not being identified early enough, ultimately driving overall absenteeism rates. The team is grappling with how to better use diagnostic and system-level data to predict attendance declines and promote adoption of foundational practices, while spreading this work and preserving schools’ ability to adapt and innovate. SESSION FORMAT NOTE: Improvement Reviews are a powerful routine that supports team learning and organizational change. Presenters share an improvement effort in progress, reflect on data and learning, pose a dilemma, and receive expert feedback. Led by Summit facilitators in a fishbowl format, these sessions allow attendees to experience the routine, learn from the presenting team, and gain insights for their own improvement work. Improvement Reviews are a key way we “walk our talk” as a learning community that celebrates and pushes each other’s work. Facilitator: Joyce Randall Reviewers: Martin Casas, Sandra Park Improvement Review Protocol