How many school boards know the reasons students are absent? This was one aspect of the conversation I led at a National Affiliate Central Roundtable this morning. Without useful data about absenteeism, it's hard to figure out the most effective strategies?

Does your district collect data on why kids are absent? For example, do you know how many students have asthma and when they are absent due to an asthma episode? What about absences due to teenage students (or even pre-adolescents) having responsibility for caring for younger siblings when a parent has to go to work and can't afford daycare? Knowing the causes of absenteeism and having baseline data give you a chance to try promising strategies and monitor their effectiveness.

What are some promising strategies? Perhaps increasing communication with families of children who show symptoms of asthma when in school will encourage establishment of a trusting relationship between family and school, and result in each of these children having an asthma action plan developed in partnership with family and health care provider. But what will it take for this to happen? Teachers need to be able to recognize symptoms and know with whom to discuss them, such as a school nurse. And the school nurse or social worker, or even principal, needs to communicate with the families about the benefits of an asthma action plan.

Creating relationships with other community agencies is essential to tackle problems students may have with attending school due to family responsibilities. Getting everyone focused on the "same child" is a positive step in the right direction for making it a win-win situation for schools, students, families and the community at large.

What issues is your district facing regarding attendance? What strategies are you finding effective? Please share.