Attendance personnel work with referred FCPS students aged 5-18 who:

• have had 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year and

• those who have significant absenteeism (10 percent missed school days.) 

They collaborate with school teams and school professionals to:

• develop plans of action,

• document interventions,

• notify parents of absence patterns, and

• help connect students and families to community and school resources. 

They also work with Fairfax County parents who need to seek an alternative to public school (such as private school, or home-schooling options) for their children.

Attendance officers do not conduct formal assessments as part of their work. 

Attendance intervention specialists:

• conduct family assessments,

• convene family resource meetings, and

• refer students and families for needed community-based services, working with assigned case managers to ensure positive outcomes. 

Student attendance is monitored at the local school. School interventions are documented as part of the intervention and referral process.  As early as the first missed school day (unexcused absence), details regarding student and parent contacts are collected so that appropriate interventions can occur. 

The manager of Student Attendance & Engagement regularly reviews data with colleagues across departments and within the program to ensure that school attendance issues and related referrals are addressed effectively.

A significant number of tools, letters, and forms are posted on the Employee Hub for access for school personnel for use with school staff members and parents. 

Additionally, parent information is posted online.  Information for parent and community communication is also posted online. 

Content is developed by the MTSS attendance team, a team focused on improving and enhancing attendance practices for FCPS.

In light of the continuing impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) increased its attendance guidance and data monitoring, as students returned to in person learning during the 2021-22 school year. 

Nationally, chronic absenteeism rates have more than doubled since the pandemic, impacting subgroups of students disproportionality. 

These subgroups include:

• English language learners,

• students receiving special education,

• students with disabilities, and

• Hispanic students. 

Significant efforts to enhance data monitoring and procedural guidance relating to attendance resulted in mandatory training for administrators, school teams, teachers, and office personnel to ensure that the accountability measures are understood and implemented.

Additionally, Project Momentum, part of the Department of School Improvement and Supports, targets specific high schools needing additional support relating to accreditation.  Attendance intervention specialists primarily support these targeted schools, with an increased focus on data-driven best practices, education, and interventions. 

The FCPS attendance policy and related regulation were updated to reflect changes in state and local procedures for attendance accountability, including reasons for absences such as those for cultural or religious observance absences.

The following 2022-23 goals were met:

1. A multidisciplinary team (MDT), facilitated by Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Intervention and Prevention Services, Neighborhood and Community Services, Department of Family Services, and the Community Services Board met regularly to discuss complex attendance cases; identify service delivery options and strengthen system collaboration to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism.

2.  Members of the MTSS attendance team, Project Momentum team, and attendance program staff members continued to collaborate and enhance attendance monitoring and professional development opportunities for high schools with the highest levels of chronic absenteeism.

3.  Best practices training, aligned with current policy and research, was disseminated to teams, administrators, and attendance personnel. FCPS partnered with Attendance Works to provide a three-part e-learning series to two cohorts of targeted FCPS administrators and school-based teams on evidence-based, tiered strategies.

4.  Addition of an attendance specialist (state-funded by ARP) to the attendance team dedicated to the Homeless Liaison’s office.  This position addresses systemic barriers to attendance for some of our most vulnerable and highly mobile families who experience chronic absenteeism at much higher rates.

Goals for 2023-24

1.   Continue to support utilization of the Attendance Dashboard across the division to facilitate early identification of students at risk for chronic absenteeism and to provide ongoing guidance to school teams to inform the school based application of this tool in order to guide the provision of universal, targeted and intensive supports and services. 

2.   Promote the FCPS Attendance Communications Campaign with multilingual and culturally sensitive strategies in support of Caregiver Information / Education, Student & Employee Engagement and Community Engagement.

3.  Provide guidance and leadership for a division-level attendance team to leverage key stakeholders in reducing student absences while building key protective factors in students, families and school communities.