Once school staff members have reached a more complete understanding of why students are not attending school, they can investigate what strategies might be the most helpful for their students. A review of the relevant research and professional literature reveals a number of views and solutions for increasing attendance. Much research, especially research on truancy prevention, views attendance problems as the result of a "functional problem," such as self-motivation, peer relations, mental health, substance abuse, social skills, poverty, and discipline. Interventions are designed to treat these problems by using counseling and family mediation, involving law enforcement, and providing social services (see, for example, Dembo & Turner, 1994).

A broader view of attendance issues, which is becoming more prevalent in the literature, is that attendance is an indicator of larger, more complex issues of disengagement and student motivation, and that school culture and structure contribute to both (Bryk & Thum, 1989; Lan & Lanthier, 2003; Lee & Burkam, 2003). Researchers and experts have identified issues that may contribute to student absenteeism, and offered implications for designing a continuum of building-level approaches and student supports in the school. Although these experts still want students and families held accountable, there is a growing recognition that schools need to take a positive approach in looking at how the school structures, culture, academics, and other factors contribute to attendance problems. As Lee and Burkam (2003) suggest, "When researchers frame dropping out as a function of student background and behavior, the implication is that students themselves are at fault for taking such unwise actions." This might tend to let school staff members off the hook, they say, and deeper investigations into how the school culture can contribute to attendance may not take place. Researchers at the National Center for School Engagement are encouraging schools to ask themselves how they can provide a positive, welcoming, safe, academically challenging, and personalized environment within which students can succeed.

In NWREL's review of the literature, we found no research that definitively answers the question: Do some strategies work better than others? Neither did we find many resources that offer step-by-step guidelines for developing attendance strategies. We have found a few studies that attempt a quasi-experimental study of certain approaches, but more studies exist that correlate a strategy with increased attendance, increased graduation rate, or studies that have determined certain outcomes as a result of an intervention (such as mentoring increasing student attendance). Many of the studies, too, had a small sample size, and relied on surveys for information.

Research has shown, however, that key factors must be in place for any school change strategies, including attendance strategies, to take hold and be effective (Keirstead, 1999; Slavin, 1997). Scott Perry, student services director at Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District (Oregon), who has years of experience in conducting attendance audits and providing student and family services, echoes researchers in advising that "sustained improvements will only occur in schools that have 'system readiness.'" This includes a cohesive staff, trusted and shared leadership, data-based decisionmaking, an oversight team for school improvements, a positive climate, and identification, evaluation, and assessment of school and student needs. In addition, research on comprehensive, effective, truancy prevention programs indicates that consistent policies, building-level support and commitment, and continuous evaluation all are important for success (Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, n.d./a).

Keeping these research perspectives in mind, strategies for increasing attendance can generally be placed into the following, often overlapping, categories:

• Sound and reasonable attendance policies with consequences for missing school
• Early interventions, especially with elementary students and their families
• Targeted interventions for students with chronic attendance problems, such as truancy reduction programs—both school and community based.
• Strategies to increase engagement and personalization with students and families that can affect attendance rates: family involvement, culturally responsive culture, smaller learning community structures, mentoring, advisory programs, maximization and focus on learning time, and service learning

The following pages summarize these strategies that existing research suggests may contribute to increased student attendance and engagement. Many of the ideas come from case studies of schools and programs, as the quantitative research offers little in the way of practical guidelines. Some strategies are obviously more effective for certain age groups than others. For example, parental intervention often is more effective for younger children than for teenagers. Additionally, because elementary schools often are more personalized than middle or high schools, strategies to encourage personalization are even more important for older children. This is by no means a complete and definitive list of strategies, but will provide a starting place for schools to guide them in their exploration of the topics. Since each strategy can only be covered briefly, additional resources are listed for more information.

Attendance Policies

Sound and reasonable attendance policies can set clear standards and high expectations for students (French, Gerstle, & Neilhaus, 1991). The goal is to foster self-discipline in students and "a personal investment in a positive school climate and community" (French et al., p. 1). Attendance policies set limits on what is allowable behavior in the school and determine consequences for actions. Petzko (1991) found, for example, that "excessive absences" policies in which students lose credit after a certain number of absences seemed to increase attendance.

On the other hand, "zero tolerance" policies that have very harsh consequences may have the opposite effect. There is research to suggest that extremely punitive policies such as suspensions and detentions don't have a positive impact on attendance, especially with minority students and students in poverty (Epp & Epp, 2001; Shannon & Bylsma, 2003; Skiba & Knesting, 2001). Say Shannon and Bylsma, "Actively discharging students pushes students out the door" (p. 33). In-school suspensions, where students are provided academic support and are kept engaged in school rather than sent home, are a better solution, suggests the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children (2002). The suspension time can be used to provide more assistance to struggling students, and can keep students up to date with coursework while they are out of class.

Research appears to be mixed as to whether incentives or rewards may increase attendance. Epstein and Sheldon (2002) found that rewarding elementary students for good attendance with parties, gift certificates, and recognition at assemblies had a meaningful correlation with reducing chronic absenteeism as well as increasing daily attendance rates. Several schools profiled in the Northwest Sampler use incentives such as school dollars to buy books, T-shirts, and so forth, and report this as being successful. Other researchers, however, question these policies for motivating students in the long term (Wagstaff et al., 2000). Using incentives in combination with other strategies is probably the most effective.

Although research may not provide definitive answers as to what policies work best, high school principal Robert Rood, in a 1989 NASSP article, provides some questions for administrators to consider as they develop policies:

• Have students with chronic absenteeism been identified and counseled?
• When students are absent, is there an effort to contact the home?
• Is there consistent enforcement of the attendance policy by all administrators and teachers?
• Has the attendance policy been recently evaluated for effectiveness and revisions implemented? Input should be taken from all parties involved—teachers, administrators, students, administrative staff, counselors, etc. Everyone needs the chance to voice concerns and understand the policies.
• Is good attendance valued and rewarded in the school and classroom? Many schools, such as Warm Springs Elementary and Pablo Elementary (see Northwest Sampler section for more details) are posting and announcing daily, weekly, and monthly attendance rates, as well as having fairs and parties to celebrate excellent attendance.
• Is there an instructional incentive for students to be at school every day? Are classes interesting and challenging enough for children to be motivated to attend school?

What Factors Contribute to Effective Attendance Policies?

Some other recommendations are compiled from primarily anecdotal information from practitioners (Dougherty, 1999; Epp & Epp, 2001; French et al., 1991; Rood, 1989).

• Attendance policies must be publicized and understood by all staff and students. There must be a clear understanding of the difference between excused and unexcused absences.
• Policies should be aligned with the district's policies and goals.
• The purpose should be to change behavior, not to punish. Reconsider the use of zero tolerance policies such as suspensions for truancy and instead consider less severe consequences such as community service or in-school detentions (Skiba & Knesting, 2001).
• There must be effective reporting, recording, and monitoring. Investigate the various computerized attendance tracking systems currently available.
• Policies must include full family involvement, with parent notification and frequent home-school contact. If a reward or incentive program is to be used, this should be clearly specified in the policy.
• Develop two-way contracts among students, administrators, teachers, and families that delineate standards of performance for the student, services the school will provide, or changes the school will make.

Early Interventions

Schools need to be responsive to the signs of a student becoming uninterested in school or signs that a student is struggling in class. Students such as those mentioned in the introduction of this booklet started to skip classes, take less challenging classes, and fall behind long before a serious problem developed. This is why providing ongoing supports such as ones that will be described in the following sections are so important.

Interventions that start in elementary school, according to some studies, are more effective in increasing attendance than starting in middle or ninth grade (Holbert, Wu, & Stark, 2002). "Working to help a child establish a positive relationship with the school system in the earliest grades would seem to be more feasible than working to rectify a negative relationship when the child becomes an adolescent," suggest Ford and Sutphen (1996).

There are a few studies that evaluate strategies in elementary grades. We looked at two studies in particular that focused on early interventions. Ford and Sutphen (1996) evaluated an attendance incentive program in one elementary school in which graduate students of social work implemented a two-part attendance program: schoolwide intervention and focused interventions for children in first–third grades who had missed an excessive amount of school. Below is a summary of the program components.

School-based interventions promoted student attachment to school. College students of social work monitored student attendance calendars, met with each child on a daily basis, and gave verbal praise and encouragement for attending school. Each day the child attended, the student got a sticker on his calendar and a token.

The Focus program consisted of daily counseling sessions of 15 minutes to an hour. Children were encouraged to verbalize their feelings and concerns, and to identify aspects of school they enjoyed; social work students were instructed to emphasize these positive connections to school. Further rewards were given at the end of the week. Later, in a maintenance period, students met with social work students on a weekly basis.

Home-based interventions focused on the perceived problem of absences being linked to limited or inconsistent parent involvement in school prep routines: children did not have fixed homework or bedtimes, no one encouraged them to wake up in time to get ready for school, or they were left on their own to get ready. Lack of transportation was also identified as contributing to absenteeism. Interventions included home visits or telephoning parents to encourage them to be more attentive to their children's school activities and responsibilities. Specific problem-solving interventions included helping parents establish evening and morning routines.

The program was evaluated after one year. Although some students initially had fewer absences, absences increased in the fourth quarter. This might indicate that the most positive effects were when children were obtaining daily interaction and feedback, rather than the weekly feedback that occurred later. It was noted that families were a driving force in their children attending school and that many issues contributing to the children's excessive non-attendance could not be resolved with micro-level, short-term interventions.

In another study, Baker and Jansen (2000) reported the results of a similar intervention in which students who had many unexcused absences met in groups with school social workers. The main goal was to improve attendance by creating a supportive group, tracking student attendance, assisting children with building friendships and social skills, encouraging positive peer pressure, and building self-esteem. The intervention was very positive—13 of 14 students had better attendance, and students had improved attitudes about school and improved self-esteem. As with the Ford and Sutphen study, a major challenge was working with parents who did not recognize the importance of regular attendance, and the challenge of assisting parents with few resources to provide day care and good health care.

Targeted Interventions

Programs specifically designed to help students with attendance and dropping out include in-school, alternative, and community-based programs; and partnerships between school, community organizations, and community juvenile justice agencies. Most of these programs are at the high school level, although some are in middle schools as well.

Although many such programs exist, there are few well-documented rigorous evaluations of such programs to determine their effectiveness. Case studies and longitudinal evaluations attest to the promising practices of such programs.

In 1999, the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program provided grants to programs that were engaged in communitywide, comprehensive plans to reduce truancy. The Colorado Foundation for Families and Children (CFFC) is the national evaluator of this program and has done research and additional evaluations of other promising programs. The CFFC has identified key components for effective, comprehensive truancy prevention/intervention programs (2002, n.d./a):

• Have consistent policies and practices, which keep children in school, rather than pushing them out.
• Involve families in all program planning and implementation. There must be mutual trust and communication for families and schools to work together to solve problems.
• Provide a continuum of supports to students, including meaningful incentives and consequences. Supports should include academic (e.g., tutoring, after-school programs, creating smaller learning communities), behavioral (e.g., mentoring, group or individual counseling), family, and health (e.g., drug and alcohol rehabilitation). Meaningful incentives should be long, not short-term, and consequences should not be punitive, but serve to keep students in, not push them out (e.g., in-school suspensions rather than out-of-school suspensions).
• Collaborate with local law enforcement, community organizations, mentoring programs, and social services. This may be challenging at first because community groups often see attendance as a school responsibility. But as programs profiled in this booklet show, collaboration is indeed beneficial to pool resources and to have more community input.
• Ensure building-level support and commitment to keeping children in the educational mainstream.
• Continuously evaluate programs and obtain meaningful and relevant data to make informed changes.

Most truancy intervention programs involve the juvenile justice court systems in deciding sanctions for truancy. Judging by a panel discussion at a recent truancy conference in Washington state, the "jury is out" as to how effective courts are in solving truancy problems. It was generally agreed at the conference that courts should be used as a last resort, and that punishment is the least effective method to encouraging children to come to school, especially for children of color who are on the fringe of school and society anyway. As Ken Seeley of the National Center for School Engagement suggested at the conference, if judges in juvenile court could use their role as an advocate for getting children the help and services they need, rather than just as a punisher, they might have a more positive effect.

Below are two programs that the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children have found to be effective or promising. To see examples of additional programs visit www.truancyprevention.org.

Fulton County (Georgia) Truancy Intervention Project.

The program pairs trained legal professionals who are willing to donate their time and services with children who are chronically absent and their families. TIP volunteers contribute their time to serve as legal counsel in juvenile court proceedings, and also serve as caring advocates and mentors for the child and family. According to the TIP Web site, the program's effectiveness has been well documented during the past few years with statistical reports maintained and updated on a yearly basis. Of the almost 1,500 children represented before July 1, 2000, more than 75 percent had not returned to juvenile court for any reason. In the 2000–2001 school year, 88 percent of the 243 children represented by TIP returned to school without further incident in the Juvenile Court. For more information, see the Kids in Need of Dreams, Inc. Web site at www.truancyproject.org

Kern County (Bakersfield, CA) Truancy Reduction Program.

This program sponsored by the Kern County Probation Department and the Kern County Substance Abuse Prevention Education Consortium, is composed of 39 districts representing 119 K–12 schools. It is funded through the Title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.

The program focuses on early intervention and stresses collaboration between schools and juvenile probation officers. The program targets students in kindergarten through 10th grade who have at least four unexcused absences and/or incidents of arriving late to class by 30 minutes or more. Home visits with youths and their families and pooled resources foster mutual cooperation. Components include assessment, home visits, weekly school contacts, counseling with the student and family, referrals to community resources, mentoring, and evaluation. Students referred to the program are usually monitored for an entire academic year. The goal, however, is to stop truant behavior within four months.

According to the data on the Web site, since the program began, chronic school absences and tardiness have decreased at participating schools. After three months in the program, participants' unexcused absences dropped 43 percent in the 1995–1996 academic year.

Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement and Personalization

As mentioned previously, schools are not only examining attendance policies and truancy intervention programs, but are also looking at how schools can become more supportive for students, so that they will be more likely to remain in school. There are multiple factors that can affect engagement and attendance. For each one of these approaches, an entire booklet can be written. The following sections present some of the most important factors with a sampling of representative research and literature for each approach, and provided some resources for further exploration.

Family Involvement

During the past several decades, the benefits of parents' and other family members' involvement in children's education have been well-documented. Although it isn't the only factor in improving student learning, 30 years of research has consistently linked family involvement to higher student achievement, better attitudes toward school, lower dropout rates, increased attendance, and many other positive outcomes for students, families, and schools (Henderson & Mapp, 2002).

In particular, Epstein and Sheldon (2002) found in a study of 12 elementary schools that as the schools developed school-family-community partnerships to help improve attendance, the average rate of chronically absent students decreased from 8 to 6.1 percent. Most important was constant and personal communication between the family and the school. In schools where home visits occurred on a regular basis, the overall percentage of chronic absenteeism was lower.

Family involvement is absolutely vital in attendance intervention programs. Most truancy intervention programs involve and hold family members accountable every step of the way—from initial contact, to family counseling, to court hearings. It is important to remember that informing families of attendance problems is not enough, that encouraging their active participation during times and at locations most convenient for them can show that schools value family input and contributions.

Here are some suggestions from the research and school practitioners on how to involve parents in increasing attendance:

• Overall, parents are the school's main source of support for getting children to school. Share ideas with parents and make them part of the team—don't place blame on them (Sheverbush, Smith, & DeGruson, 2000).
• Family counseling sessions should focus on finding positive solutions and treating the family with respect. The goal is to emphasize solutions based on the power of the family, rather than the power of the school (Sheverbush et al., 2000).
• Conduct a communitywide public relations effort to stress the importance of school attendance and the necessity of family involvement (Sheverbush et al., 2000).
• Establish a contact at school for family members to work with (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002).
• Make home visits to chronically absent children. Provide a home family liaison to identify the root causes for children not coming to school, and to "initiate discussions about community services that can assist" (Schargel & Smink, 2001, p. 51)
• Establish immediate personal contact with families when the problem first arises. Many schools make phone calls rather than send impersonal letters as a first contact.

For more about building relationships with parents, refer to By Request … Building Trust With Schools and Diverse Families: A Foundation for Lasting Partnerships (www.nwrel.org/request/2003dec/)

Personalized Learning

Increasingly, schools are recognizing the importance of creating structures and opportunities for personalized learning. Indeed, research strongly suggests that schools which have created smaller and/or personalized learning environments have higher attendance and lower dropout rates (Fashola & Slavin, 1997; Owings & Kaplan, 2001; Secada et al., 1998; Wasley et al., 2000). Wasley et al.'s study compared Chicago's small schools, including schools-within-schools, with other schools in the system and found that attendance rates were higher in the small high schools. Students in small high schools attended almost four or five more days of school per semester than students attending the other high schools. The authors caution that small schools are not a "panacea" for increasing attendance or raising achievement: "It is important to avoid seeing small schools as the sole solution to all that ails education. Rather we suggest that it is a key ingredient in a comprehensive plan to improve education" (p. 66).

The study found the following conditions were present in the small schools that made gains in attendance, promotion, and decrease in dropout rates possible:

• Teachers know students well
• Teachers have high expectations for students, which often leads to high expectations within students
• Teachers foster critical judgment in their students
• Teachers use a broad range of strategies to engage their students
• Students report feeling safer in their schools
• Accountability is strengthened among parents, students, and teachers

Structures for Creating Smaller Learning Communities

Currently, many large high schools are creating small schools-within-a-school to make education more meaningful for students and to affect attendance, dropout rates, discipline, and academic performance. Research shows that personalization is more likely to occur in smaller learning communities and attendance rates are higher (Cotton, 2001; Wasley et al., 2000). Following is a brief summary of the types of smaller learning community structures:

• Academies are smaller groups within a school, usually organized around a particular theme. Career academies, for example, integrate academic and vocational instruction, providing work-based learning within a personalized learning environment. Freshman academies are designed to ease first-year high school students' transition from middle to high school. Research has indicated that students making the transition from middle to high school are more at risk of dropping out than at any other time. Some high schools with ninth-grade academies have shown increased daily student attendance (Morrison & Legters, 2001) and schools across the country are reporting success. One of these is Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, which saw an increased attendance rate from 83.5 percent in 1995 to 91 percent in 2001.
• House plans divide students into groups that take classes together with the same house teachers. Houses often have their own student government and social activities. Houses differ from academies in that they don't have themes.
• Schools-Within-a-School differ from the above approaches in that they are autonomous within a larger school, and have their own culture, program, staff, students, budget, and school space.
• Magnet schools have a core focus, such as math, art, or science, in which students from around the district will take classes together in one school. Sometimes the admission requirements are competitive.

Key elements of effective smaller learning communities (SLC) include (Cotton, 2001):

• Autonomy. Smaller learning communities maintain as much control as reasonable over space, schedule, budget, curriculum, instruction, and personnel.
• Identity. The community of adults and students within each SLC has established goals that drive all decisions and create conditions unique to each SLC.
• Personalization. The smaller learning communities implement strategies that take advantage of downsized environments and facilitate all students being known well.
• Instructional Focus. Each SLC emphasizes the importance of instruction geared toward improved academic achievement for all students.
• Accountability. Students in SLCs demonstrate progress on state, local, and schoolwide assessments as well as progress toward established SLC goals, both academic and affective.

Caring Relationships

Perhaps the most important finding in research concerning dropout prevention, attendance, student engagement, and effective small schools is that students are more likely to remain and achieve in schools where people care about them (Benard, 2004; Green, 1998; Steinberg & Allen, 2002; Wimberly, 2002). If relationships between staff and students and their families are to affect student outcomes, they must be based upon trust, respect, fairness, and equity. The research shows that in schools where there is trust, caring, and support, there is higher attendance, higher student performance, and a lower rate of suspensions (Green, 1998; Strand & Peacock, 2002).

A caring and supportive school in which a student's culture is respected, and where children can identify and make connections with their heritage is vitally important for students of diverse cultures. In a recent study, 150 Native students reported in interviews that "being well-grounded and connected to their tribal culture" was a large part of why they stayed in school (Strand & Peacock, 2002). Students who were doing well in school reported that participation in a school culture that included Native history, language, and culture was also a factor. To learn of some excellent examples of schools that are creating safe, trusting, and culturally based climates for Native American children, go to www.nwrel.org/nwedu/09-03/ and read the Spring 2004 issue of NWREL's Northwest Education on Native students.

Mentoring

There are many kinds of mentoring: school-based, community-based, faith-based, peer mentoring, e-mentoring (use of technology such as e-mail to facilitate and/or support a mentor/mentee relationship), and career-vocational mentoring. Mentoring is one way to ensure that a child has a continuous, sustained, and caring relationship with a trusted adult—whether in or outside school. Research on two nationally known mentoring programs (Big Brothers/Sisters and Across Ages) clearly indicates that children who were mentored in these programs had increased attendance, more positive attitudes toward schools, and possibly improved grades.

Not all mentoring programs have these benefits, however. A recent meta-analysis showed that, as a whole, mentoring programs have only small benefits. The key, say Dubois and colleagues (2002), is that well-designed mentoring programs must have these factors in place to be effective:

• Ongoing training for mentors
• Structured activities for both mentors and youth
• Expectations for frequency of contact, mechanisms for support and involvement of parents, and monitoring of overall program implementation

Indicators of a successful mentoring relationship include frequency of contact, emotional closeness, and longevity of the match. Mentoring researchers caution people that one should not expect that a mentor will solve all the child's problems, including attendance, and that a mentor program will automatically mean other strategies don't need to be in place. Ideally, a mentoring program should be part of the comprehensive plan for increasing attendance. For more information about designing, implementing, and evaluating mentoring programs visit NWREL's National Mentoring Center Web site ( www.nwrel.org/mentoring/about.html). The site also has information on training curricula, program guidebooks, and a database of more than 5,000 mentoring programs across the country.

Student Advisories

Advisory programs are set up in many ways, but the overall goal of all such programs is to provide every student with a teacher or staff member who will assist in providing emotional, academic, and personal support. These are especially useful in large middle and high schools where students don't have a chance to form personal relationships with their several teachers. Often the program has two components: a daily period when advisers connect with their students, and an ongoing, consistent, long-term relationship These adults can help the student become integrated into the school, help students identify problems, mediate between students and teachers, and generally help them become engaged with their learning (Wimberly, 2002).

Although there are few quantitative studies that address the effectiveness of advisory programs on student attendance or achievement, Simpson and Boriack (1994) found that 70 chronically absent students in a special advisory period had marked decreases in absenteeism during the period of the program. Many researchers have linked decline in motivation to the decline of teacher-student relationships and social bonding (Eccles, Lord, & Midgley, 1991). As Galassi, Gulledge, and Cox (1998) explain, most studies on advisories have "serious methodological flaws" or are "one shot investigations" (pp. 13–14).

Some schools have reported unsuccessful advisories, either because the advisory periods are too unstructured, or there is little time to have such periods. Here are a few tips for success for creating advisory programs (Goldberg, 1998):

• The planning and discussions for how to organize the advisories need to be realistic. There are many variations and not all are necessary to a successful program.
• Advisers must understand what is expected of them and the expectations should be realistic. For example, advisers must know how often they are to meet with individual students, and what roles they are expected to play with parents, scheduling, and other issues.
• The advisory program should be focused on a certain goal or goals. Often schools report that advisory periods are meaningless for students because there is little interaction with the adviser. If this is the case, perhaps a more structured activity such as an open discussion of issues with students choosing the topics, or a project on conflict resolution might be more beneficial (www.newvisions.org/schoolsuccess/practices/student/).

Three excellent resources for implementing advisory programs in middle and high schools are Galassi, Gulledge, and Cox's Advisory: Definitions, Descriptions, Decisions, Directions (1998), Goldberg's How To Design an Advisory System for a Secondary School (1998), and Osofsky, Sinner, and Wolk's Changing Systems To Personalize Learning: The Power of Advisories (2003).

Culturally Responsive School Culture and Curriculum

Although there are no quantitative studies that link attendance to language and culture, the existing literature that identifies issues and factors that contribute to the educational success of culturally diverse students all agree that the following are very important:

• Each student should have at least one adult who is "committed to nurturing a personal sense of self-worth and supporting the student's efforts to succeed in school" (ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, 2000). These adults must also recognize and respect their students' cultural identity, which will help build a trusting relationship (Wimberly, 2002). This is especially important, according to Wimberly's study, for African American students, who are less likely than white students to talk to their teachers outside class, and who may be in even more need of support. For example, the 95 percent Hispanic Lennox Middle School in California has an "Adopt a Student" program in which students receive at least one hour of daily one-on-one student-teacher contact. One task of the student's staff partner is to ensure student attendance.
• Teachers need to have the highest expectations for all children, especially those who have been stereotyped in the past as underachievers or "truants." They should engage children in challenging content and make education relevant and interesting (Secada et al., 1998).
• Curricula can incorporate and honor students' language and culture. In many Alaskan schools, Alaska Native language and culture are integrated into the standards-based curriculum. In fact, Alaska has standards for culturally responsive schools, guidelines for respecting cultural knowledge, guidelines for strengthening indigenous languages, and a handbook for developing a culturally responsive science curriculum. (See www.ankn.uaf.edu/standards/ for more information.)
• Teachers need to be experienced with the most effective, research-based practices for English language learners (Padrón, Waxman, & Rivera, 2002). Additional resources for obtaining this experience can be found at www.cal.org, the Center for Applied Linguistics Web site.

Alternative Programs

Although alternative schools and programs have been around for years, within the last 15 years there has been a "rebirth" of such programs especially for children at risk of dropping out (Reimer & Cash, 2003). Alternative schools can be a self-contained classroom in a school or a school-within-a-school; they may be semi-autonomous or on their own. The structures and purposes of alternative programs may vary, but they all have one thing in common: providing students an alternative in which to learn. Charter schools, which may offer options not available in other schools, are becoming more prevalent across the country, with more than 30 states and the District of Columbia passing legislation to allow them (Reimer & Cash, 2003).

As the numbers and types of alternative programs have grown, so has the scrutiny as to their effectiveness with student achievement and keeping students in school. Although there is still little quantitative research on the effectiveness of these schools, qualitative research does exist. An evaluation of Portland (OR) public alternative high schools shows progress in keeping children in school: attendance rates are at 83 percent, up from 79 percent two years earlier (Wang & Devine, 2002). Barr and Parrett (1997) state, "Perhaps most significant, in study after study, alternative schools have been shown to take students that more conventional public schools either could not or perhaps would not teach and have documented remarkable education success."

Researchers Schargel and Smink of the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University have found through their evaluations and research of effective programs the following characteristics of effectiveness (2001, p. 117):

• Maximum teacher/student ratio of 1:10
• Small student base not exceeding 250
• Clearly stated mission and discipline code
• Caring faculty with continual professional development
• School staff having high expectations for student achievement
• Learning program specific to student expectations and learning styles
• Flexible school schedule with community involvement and support
• Total commitment for each student to be a success

For additional information about establishing and evaluating alternative programs, consult the National Dropout Prevention Center's 2003 booklet, Alternative Schools: Best Practices for Development and Evaluation, by M.S. Reimer and T. Cash. It is available for purchase by contacting ndpc@clemson.edu or www.dropoutprevention.org

For a list of regional alternative programs that have had some success view the By Request on Alternative Schools: Approaches for Students At-Risk at www.nwrel.org/request/sept97/article10.html

Focus on Learning, Maximize Learning Time, and Have High Expectations

If the school and classroom teachers focus on learning, and maximize that time, students are more likely to achieve higher standards. The amount of time schools and teachers use for learning vary, especially with the addition of procedural matters, test taking, transitions between activities and classes, and off-task activities. In her review of the effective schooling practices of the last 20 years, Cotton (2000) offers these key approaches:

• Emphasize at all-school gatherings and in classrooms that learning is the most important reason for being in school. Post learning goals and standards in the classroom and in the newsletter, and make sure family members understand them as well.
• Let students know that the school has high expectations for their achievement and believes in their ability to meet and exceed those expectations.
• Allocate time for various subjects based on school learning goals and investigate alternative scheduling (such as block scheduling) to ensure there is enough time to cover core subjects.
• Provide extended learning opportunities after and before school and in the summer.
• Keep loudspeaker and other "administrative intrusions brief."
• Make sure that the school day, classes, and other activities end on time.
• Keep transition time between lessons short.
• Supervise seatwork activities and small-group activities to keep them productive.
• Hold students accountable for completing assignments, turning in work, and being in class every day.

Service Learning

In general terms service learning is where students learn through active participation in thoughtfully organized service projects that meet the needs of communities. It enhances and is integrated into the academic curriculum. Structured time is provided for students to reflect on the service experience. Although the research is—as with other strategies—primarily based on survey evaluations of programs, with few control groups and little evaluation of long-term sustainability, the existing studies do show that service learning is associated with increased student attendance (Billig, 2000).

Service learning is appropriate for children of all ages. Although issues such as recruitment, logistics, and buy-in are important to resolve, service learning is becoming more popular throughout the country.

At Langley Middle School on Whidbey Island, Washington, service learning has been fully integrated into the curriculum. Eighth-graders are involved in the Youth in Philanthropy project, in which they research and identify specific community needs and identify organizations that can address those needs. Students then grant $10,000 provided by a local philanthropy organization to chosen local nonprofit organizations. Another project has seventh-graders partnering with AmeriCorps to restore a wetland in the area, which incorporates essential learning requirements from the Washington State Science Standards. Langley was recognized in 2002 by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as one of 16 schools in the United States that have done an outstanding job of integrating service learning into the curriculum. For more information about Langley, see the CNCS Web site at www.leaderschools.org/2002profiles/langley.html.

The Corporation for National and Community Service has identified "Hallmarks of Effective Service Learning Programs" (2002, p. 9) that programs may wish to consider:

• Service activities should be of sustained or significant duration. Program experience suggests that a minimum of 40 hours during a school year is necessary to yield positive results for students and the community.
• Teachers, after-school program coordinators, or sponsors need to work with students in order to draw the connections between what the students are doing and what they should be learning. Even if service activities are conducted outside class, it is important that the project have clear and specific learning objectives.
• The service that students perform should have a strong connection to the curriculum they are studying or to their after-school activities.
• The relationship between service and democratic practices, ideas, and history should be made explicit in order that students see service as a civic responsibility.
• Project participants should be given time to reflect on their service. That may involve asking students to keep a journal, or having teachers and organizers lead discussions or coordinate activities that get participants to analyze and think critically about their service. These activities need to be planned, not left to chance.
• Students should have a role not only in executing the service project, but also in making decisions about its development. Students should be involved in leadership roles in all phases of the project.
• To ensure that service is really useful and strengthens community ties, strong partnerships with community groups based on mutually agreed-upon goals, roles, and responsibilities are essential.

The Service-Learning Northwest Resource Center in Vancouver serves the state of Washington, the Pacific Northwest region, and beyond. The center provides resources, training, and technical assistance to educators, students, and community-based organizations throughout the service-learning community ( www.servicelearningnw.org). For more information about service learning, NWREL has published the "Service Learning Toolbox" with work sheets and checklists to help you and your students get started: www.nwrel.org/ruraled/learnserve/resources/SL_Toolbox.pdf. For additional information about service learning see the National Service Learning Clearinghouse at www.servicelearning.org