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Published Oct 8, 2020

Taking Attendance in a Virtual School Year

Explore the complexities of maintaining student attendance during a virtual school year, as Evan McMorris-Santoro delves into technological hurdles, and the crucial roles of emotional safety, communication, and community support in effective remote learning.
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  • Foundations

    Ensuring student attendance in virtual learning requires foundational supports like providing laptops and Internet connectivity. emphasizes the importance of creating smaller homerooms where teachers can build relationships with students and monitor their attendance more effectively. She notes, "You have to take a tiered system of supports, which is like a public health model." 1

       

    Communication

    Effective communication between schools and families is crucial for monitoring and supporting student attendance. shares that contacting families to inform them of their child's absences and providing schedules and logon information can significantly reduce absenteeism. She explains, "We have to be in real communication with families and recognize the entire nature of schooling has just changed underneath all of us." 1

       

    Community

    Local governments and public agencies play a vital role in supporting schools to ensure student attendance. highlights that schools alone cannot address issues like Internet connectivity and that community investment is essential. She states, "Schools can't address the connectivity issue just on their own. If we want Internet bandwidth, we need to be able to make sure that as a city, we're creating those options." 1

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