Poster Contest
In 2007, the Attendance Improvement
Program hosted an elementary-level Attendance Poster Contest. Participants were encouraged
to submit designs that demonstrated the importance of attending
school. Out of the hundreds of posters received, Ben
Storsved from Bottenfield, was the grand prize winner. Congratulations
Ben!
Past Poster Contests:
2006 Winner:
Grand Prize Winner
Alice, Bottenfield Elementary
In 2005, the Attendance
Improvement Program hosted a district-wide Attendance
Matters poster contest. . One winner was picked from
each of the following levels: 1. Elementary 2.
Middle School 3. High School.
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Warning Signs...
Watch for signs that may indicate your
child needs additional support from school & community resources:
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Having difficulty getting up for
school in the morning.
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Lack of interest in school.
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Frequently missing the bus.
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Frequent tardies to school or
class.
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Behavioral problems on the bus or
in the classroom.
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Lack of interest to share what
they are learning in school.
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Saying they have no homework.
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Not completing assigned homework.
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Receiving poor grades on class
assignments and tests.
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Frequent health complaints that
keep student from attending.
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Attendance Improvement Team
Members:
Stephanie Record:
Attendance Improvement
Specialist
(217) 649-4662
Central High School
recordst@champaignschools.org
Cindy Barger:
Attendance Improvement Specialist
(217) 649-2038
Columbia Middle & High School
Barkstall, Bottenfield, B.T. Washington, Carrie Busey, Dr. Howard,
Garden Hills, Robeson, South Side, Stratton, Westview
bargerci@champaignschools.org
Sheronda
Smith-Williams:
Attendance Outreach Worker
(217) 649-3627
Jefferson Middle School, Franklin Middle School
smithwsh@champaignschool.org
Rush Record:
(217) 649-4651
Attendance
Outreach Worker/District NOVEL Coordinator
(217)
649-4651
Centennial High School
recordru@champaignschools.org
Sheldon Turner:
Attendance Outreach Worker
(217) 841-2460
Edison Middle School, Franklin Middle School
turnersh@champaignschools.org
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Guidelines, & Referral Forms
Attendance Improvement Program Referral Form (Microsoft Word Document)
Attendance Improvement Program Brochure (Microsoft Publisher File)
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Business Sponsors
We would like to
thank the following businesses for their support:
   
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Parent
Involvement
  
Parental/Guardian involvement is extremely important for the success
of the student in school. Research consistently finds that family engagement has a direct,
positive effect on children's achievement and is the most accurate
predictor of a student's success in school.
When you’re involved in your child’s
education, your child achieves more. You can help your child succeed by
providing a home that encourages learning and supports your child’s
physical, mental, and emotional development.
Here are some ways for
you to be more involved:
- Attend Open House in the
fall.
- Volunteer in class or
attend field trips.
- Communicate with your
child's teachers via phone or email.
- Attend parent-teacher conferences. A parent–teacher conference is a time
when important people in a student's life can talk about how that
student is doing in school. It's a chance for you to ask questions about
the class or your child's progress. It is also a time for you and the
teacher to work together as a team to discuss ways you both can help
your son or daughter.
- Make an appointment to
meet with teachers. A parent-teacher
conference is not the only time when parents and teachers should make
contact. Parents may want to schedule a special meeting with their
child's teacher for a variety of reasons. If you need to set up an
appointment with the teacher, make a phone call or write a quick note to
the teacher, and let him or her know if you have particular issues you
would like to discuss.
- Join the PTA or other parent group. Go
to school events, like back-to-school night. As a group, see how you can
help the school reach its goals.
Here are some ways for
you to help your child be successful at school:
- Create a smooth takeoff each day.
- Discuss your child’s school day and
homework daily.
- Include calm, peaceful times in your
children's afternoons and evenings. Maintain a schedule that allows them
to go to school rested.
- Create a specific homework space that's
clutter-free and quiet.
- Fill your child's life with a love for
learning by showing him your own curiosity, respecting his questions,
and encouraging his efforts.
- Talk with your child about the
importance of a good education. Share your positive school experiences.
- Share expectations and set goals
together for your child.
- Arrange for help with making up missed
work, tutoring, placement in a special program, and/or a transfer to
another school.
- Help them with personal problems, and/or
arrange for professional help.
- Help them schedule work and family
obligations so that there is also time to attend school.
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Resources
-
Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
Pocket Guide- offers a quick lookup of the most
commonly used health and human services in Champaign County.
Available for download in Adobe Acrobat PDF format in both English
and Spanish.
-
Community Resource Guide for Champaign
County-The
Community Resource Guide is a collaborative project of the
United Way of Champaign County Success By 6® EduCare/Early
Literacy Work Group, The Urbana Free Library, Champaign
Public Library, Champaign County Public Health Department
and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. This quick
reference guide lists a variety of resources including
support services and educational programs for families with
young children in Champaign County.
- The Help Book Online is a
comprehensive directory of human and social services in Champaign
County.
- Parenting 24/7 - Parenting 24/7
is a "one-stop" source of news, information, and advice on parenting
and family life from University of Illinois Extension. Designed for
parents and grandparents of children from birth through the teens,
it provides feature articles with research-based information, video
clips of parents and experts, breaking news and commentary,
newsletters, and recommendations to the best parenting resources on
the web.
- Education Pays - Education Pays shows students, parents and
educators the economic and financial benefits of staying in school.
- National Dropout Prevention Center/Network- a research
center and resource network for practitioners, researchers, and
policymakers to reshape school and community environments to meet
the needs of youth in at-risk situations so these students receive
the quality education and services necessary to succeed academically
and graduate from high school.
- National
Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students - research, development,
and dissemination of replicable strategies designed to improve the
educational achievement and other important outcomes of students who
are placed at risk due to inadequate institutional responses to such
factors as poverty, ethnic-minority status, and non-English-speaking
home background.
- Center for Research on the Education of
Students Placed At Risk- (CRESPAR) was
established in 1994 as a collaboration between Johns Hopkins
University and Howard University. CRESPAR's mission is to conduct
research, development, evaluation, and dissemination of replicable
strategies designed to transform schooling for students who are
placed at risk due to inadequate institutional responses to such
factors as poverty, ethnic minority status, and non-English-speaking
home background.
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Mentoring
The Attendance Improvement Program collaborates with C-U One to One to
help provide Mentors for at-risk students. Our programs share the goal
of improving students’ self-esteem, promoting attendance and dropout
prevention.
CU one-to-one is a school-based mentoring
program sponsored jointly by the Champaign and Urbana public schools and
the Champaign-Urbana business community. It is founded on the belief
that mentoring can change young people’s lives for the better. Mentors
meet with their mentees for one hour a week during the school day.
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Attendance Facts
YOU OUGHT TO KNOW!
High school graduates, on the average, earn
$9,245 more per year than high school dropouts. (Employment Policy Foundation,
2002).
High school dropouts are 3.5
times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in
their lifetime (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2003a).
The unemployment rate for workers who dropped
out of high school is nearly four times the rate for college graduates (US
Department of Labor, 2004).
75% of America's state prison inmates are high
school dropouts (Harlow, 2003).
59% of America's federal
prison inmates did not complete high school (Harlow, 2003).
Police departments across the nation report
that many students not in school during regular hours are committing crimes,
including vandalism, shoplifting, and graffiti.
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Thinking Straight A's
The Attendance Improvement Program implements
a group session program entitled, "Thinking Straight A's: Attitude, Attendance,
and Achievement."
This group is an additional intervention
service used at the middle school level to help reduce absenteeism. Goals within
this group are to help students become better problem solvers, enhance their
decision making skills, improve their ability to communicate, and elevate their
feelings about themselves. With group topics that address goal setting,
communication skills, time management, peer relationships, and social skills,
the students are able to explore new behaviors and thought patterns that will
help equip them to be successful in and out of school.
Thinking Straight A's Recent School Displays:
 
  
As part of the Thinking Straight A's program
at Edison Middle school, a display was created to help celebrate Black History
Month. Students spent time after school helping to create the display and
reflect on African American's who have influenced our society.
  
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"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
--
Sydney Harris
Last
updated:
May 20, 2008
CJB
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