Schneider, Laura2023-10-092023-10-092023https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/33476This Education Leadership Portfolio’s (ELP) improvement goal was to reduce student chronic absence at West Seaford Elementary School (WSES), a K-2 public school in the Seaford School District (SSD), where I serve as principal. Significant levels of student chronic absence have been and remain common at WSES, and—according to national and state guidelines—WSES was identified as having a high rate of student chronic absence for the 2021 school year. This ELP leverages existing research and secondary data to develop a better understanding of student chronic absence at WSES while better positioning WSES to reduce student chronic absence in the future. ☐ To attain my improvement goal, I implemented three improvement strategies: (a) develop a better understanding of student chronic absence and the contours of the problem generally and in SSD and WSES specifically; (b) develop and implement supports that WSES can use to help reduce chronic absence, including establishing a school-based attendance team and monitor attendance data, developing a multi-level support model to address student attendance challenges, and communicating the critical importance of student attendance to students and parents; and (c) communicate the problem of student chronic absence in SSD to SSD officials. ☐ Progress towards realizing the improvement goal was measured using the student chronic absence rate for WSES and the chronic absence rates of WSES student subgroups historically most likely to experience student chronic absence, such as African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, and students from economically-disadvantaged families. ☐ After implementing the aforementioned improvement strategies, the student chronic absence rate for the 2022 school year at WSES was its lowest since student chronic absence data have been historically collected. In fact, WSES was considered to have on-track attendance—the converse of student chronic absence—as WSES’s student chronic absence rate was less than 10%. In addition, results indicated a considerable decrease in student chronic absence among WSES’s African American students. For these students, the student chronic absence rate dropped from 30% to 7%—a decrease of 23% in just one school year. Student chronic absence also decreased for WSES’s Hispanic or Latino students from 26% to 10%—a decrease of 16% in just one school year. The student chronic absence rate for WSES’s English language learners in 2022 was the lowest since 2017 at 7%—26% lower than the prior school year. Similarly, although not as large, the student chronic absence rate for students from economically-disadvantaged families also decreased by 11% from the prior school year. ☐ Results from this ELP suggest that student chronic absence was reduced at WSES. While WSES is well positioned to continue the work described in this ELP, I conclude by offering several considerations that may advance the WSES attendance team’s work in the future. However, most recommendations are intended for other SSD schools and SSD, as a district, as these schools and the district have just started implementing improvement efforts to reduce student chronic absence.AbsenteesimChronic absenceElementary schoolsLatino studentsThesis1410819336https://doi.org/10.58088/ssq8-rh082023-09-20en