OAESD Chronic Absenteeism Project

In the first few weeks of school, our students are forming/reforming habits that will carry them through the rest of the year and the years that follow.  They are learning how important showing up to school is and what our response will be if they don't.  An analysis of the state attendance data submitted by each district each year was conducted by ODE.  They were able to make a comparison between the number of days missed in the first month of school and what percent of those students ended up chronically absent by the end of the year. The results of that analysis can be seen below.

The 2016 Legislature, through HB 4002, requested the Chief Education Office (CEdO) and Oregon
Department of Education (ODE) to develop a statewide plan to identify and address chronic
absenteeism in Oregon public schools and districts. The 2017 Legislature approved the Statewide
Chronic Absenteeism Plan and provided funding to the Oregon Department of Education to begin the
implementation of the Plan. The goal of the Plan is to publically identify the degree of chronic
absenteeism in Oregon schools and provide technical assistance and best practices to support schools
and districts in their efforts to reduce chronic absences.

ODE reviewed the attendance and other data from the 2016-2017 school year and determined the
degree of chronic absenteeism by percentages in Oregon’s school districts. The OAESD Support
Network made application to ODE to receive grant funding to support regional efforts of coaching and assistance for schools/districts which have chronic absenteeism rates between 10.1% and 29.9% and are geographically located throughout the state. (ODE will work directly with school districts which have a range of 30% and above chronic absenteeism in their schools.) In submitting this grant, OAESD projected that the percentage of students who are chronically absent should decrease statewide by 1.9% during the 2017-2019 biennium as a result of grant activities.

In the grant submission, the OAESD Support Network identified eight regions to work cooperatively with schools and districts across the state and to work cooperatively with each other. The regions and identified ESDs are: Multnomah Region – Multnomah ESD, Clackamas ESD; Northwest Region – Northwest Regional ESD; Willamette Region – Willamette ESD; Valley Region – Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD, Lane ESD; Southern Region – Douglas ESD, South Coast ESD, Southern Oregon ESD; Columbia Region – Columbia Gorge ESD, North Central ESD, Grant ESD; High Desert Region – Jefferson ESD, Harney ESD, Lake ESD, Malheur ESD; and, Intermountain Region – Intermountain ESD, Region 18 ESD.

With Clackamas ESD as the designated fiscal agent for this project, the OAESD Support Network received $2.7 million in grant funds to be spent on activities identified in the Statewide Chronic Absenteeism Plan. These funds are being distributed to each of the eight regions to be spent on the following: statewide coordinator (employee of Clackamas ESD); regional allocations for the hiring of regional coordinators and targeted district activities; and, regional allocations based on 2018-19 enrollment projections for general awareness activities related to chronic absenteeism.

Specific activities associated with the implementation of the Chronic Absenteeism plan to be conducted by the regional coordinators include: professional development and coaching for all staff in schools and districts to develop their ability to encourage and support students in attending school on a regular basis; development of district and school attendance teams; parent and community meetings to gain feedback on how to get and keep students in school on a regular and timely basis; community engagement activities for parents and students throughout the entire school year; public awareness campaign activities in conjunction with ODE; and, other supports such as mentoring programs and safe and friendly school environment activities.