Missing School? Closing the Gaps Too sick to go to school but not too sick to learn? Medically excused or truant? Hurricanes? Floods? Fires? Flu season?

Missing School? Closing the Gaps

Too sick to go to school but not too sick to learn? Medically excused or truant?

Hurricanes? Floods? Fires? Flu season? Pandemic?

Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed.www.healthy-kids.info

Salem State U Best Practices

Conference 11/2010

www.healthy-kids.info

10 - 20 % of children under 17 have some type of chronic health condition (asthma, diabetes, seizure disorders, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, liver or heart defects, etc.) Despite differences among conditions or their severity, the common challenges relate to the chronicity and unpredictability of a condition.

(adapted from James Perrin, MD, Michael Weitzman, MD)

•The number of kids with chronic health issues is growing. USA Today Nov. 2, 2008. Number of Kids on medication jumps alarmingly

• Expert: Cost of absenteeism rivals health care, Rebecca R. Hastings, Society for Human Resource Management Website October 2008 http://www.shrm.org/


Who Else is Missing School?


WHO ELSE IS MISSING SCHOOL?

Challengesthe chutes


Old BarriersGrading and Promotion Penalties for missed time or missed "work.”

Indifference to sporadic absence or intermittent attendance. “Excused Absence” but poor communication, instructional services or

support. (10 day rule?)Truancy and child neglect complaints.


Missed School TimeLack of communication and academic support

diminishes value of school attendance.


Advocacy Strategy - 3RsA “resource, recovery and re-entry plan”

for Academic and Social Continuity For selective, pre-emptive and reactive

dismissals and closures. Not just for kids with Issues and Illnesses.


"The singular purpose for determining that a student has a disability is to increase the educational opportunities available to that student so that he/she progresses through school. The responsibility of the evaluation team is to ensure that each student receives the most appropriate educational program in the Least Restrictive Environment..." Educating the Whole Student, MA Dept. of Education, September, 1992


21st century skillsAny organization looking to increase productivity, retain talented employees and gain competitive advantage in the 21st century can’t overlook telecommuting as part of its strategy.


Ranks of Virtual Workers Expected to RiseOct. 26, 2010 — a new online poll by Right Management

-- three out of four organizations already have people who work remotely and, of those employers, nearly half expect their number to increase or significantly increase during the year ahead.

"It is no surprise that the number of virtual employees will continue to increase given the widespread nature of this trend, the cost pressures organizations face, increased sophistication of technology and the growing number of employees who have come to expect this kind of flexible work arrangement," said Michael Haid, Senior Vice President of Global Solutions for Right Management.


21st century technology and planning provides:

And more…especially in under-performing schools.


Getting Started: Making Connections

• Hold face-to-face parent teacher meetings before/at start of year• Connect parent-parent, teacher-parent, students• Assess educator, parent and student readiness • Assess school needs • Set up communication structure• Nothing about us without us


Ladders• Course syllabus• Course calendar• Reading lists • Media and technology• Student study groups• Skill checks, quizzes and tests• Logs, journals, reports, assignments


The effective teacher ___ Is experienced. (Has taught the course before.)___ Is extremely well organized and predictable.___ Follows a course syllabus.___ Has explicit written goals and objectives. ___ Follows a calendar of activities and

assignments.___ Uses a basic standard text. ___ Posts the course syllabus, class calendar, study

guides and assignments on a class website.


The effective teacher ___ Makes all texts, supplemental materials and

resources available at start of course.___ Teaches note-taking skills; Uses course note-takers.___ Encourages writing across the curriculum.___ Uses take-home exams.___ Evaluates tests and assignments promptly. ___ Accepts assignments, papers and projects online.


The effective teacher ___ Uses a cooperative vs. a competitive goal

structure. Encourages students to use each other as resources (study buddies, cooperative learning groups, study teams, share lecture and discussion notes, etc.).

___ Accepts phone links or video camera in class.___ Is knowledgeable about learning technology and

resources within the school and the community.


CONTINUITY OF LEARNING Being There -- Virtually

.


• have explicit, self-contained, sequential,

comprehensive curriculum goals and assessments.• have explicit structure, expectations and learning

objectives.• are student-driven, self-paced , asynchronous

system.• eliminate "keeping up" while "making up." • allow students to gain mastery, proficiencies and

pre-requisites for future courses and career.• have credits equivalent to state curriculum

frameworks.

Effective programs


Effective programs• avoid the frustrations, inadequacies and inefficiencies of tutoring.• provide evaluation and feedback by certified teachers.• manage educational documentation and administrative paperwork.• provide records and reports grades and credit status to school.• are easy to access anywhere, at home, library, school…• give students life long skills (distance education and virtual learning). • can be lower cost.


Best PracticesYour school improvement plan

• Protect all students' academic progress and emotional health

• Protect school’s performance measures• Save funds wasted on inappropriate and

ineffective tutoring or special services.


Continuity of Education Links• The Continuity Of Learning For Schools (K 12) During Extended Student Absence or ‐School Dismissal, US Dept. of Education http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/guidance/continuity-recs.pdf

• Present, Engaged, and Accounted For, The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades, Hedy N. Chang and Mariajosé Romero, September 2008, http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_837.html

• When Failure Is Not An Option: Designing Competency Based Pathways…. The study, by MetisNet and iNACOL, with support from the Quincy, Mass.-based Nellie Mae Education Foundation. http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/iNACOL_FailureNotOption-web.pdf

•Blackboard.com http://www.blackboard.com/Company/Education-Continuity.aspx

• The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) http://www.inacol.org/col/

• Wayne RESA http://www.resa.net/curriculum/col/ and http://continuityoflearning.wikispaces.com/


Schools may be violating students’ civil rights under Section 504 and the ADA if:

• staff create or ignore conditions that make healthy children sick or sick children sicker, such as poor ventilation, moldy carpets, furry animals, renovation activity, toxic chemicals or other sources of contamination that are barriers to attendance or that handicap their performance or ability to participate.

• school policies deny instructional support or limit instructional services to a certain numbers of hours per week or to after school hours.

• teachers penalize a student for missed class time due to health problems.

• students do not receive the continuity and quality of instruction necessary to maintain academic progress.

.

Advocacy Note


Ellie Goldberg [email protected]

Missing School? Closing the Gaps Too sick to go to school but not too sick to learn? Medically excused or truant? Hurricanes? Floods? Fires? Flu season?

Documents

mdthe number of kids

missing school

value of school

number of virtual employees

growing number of employees

right management

century technology

chronic health issues