The Decatur County School System is very sympathetic to the fact that many students are absent due to illness or other legitimate causes. These are not the students that cause the school system concern. It is those students or, in some cases, parents who do not appear to value an education that we are targeting. It is not the intent of this initiative to cause a hardship for parents; only to assist them in making sure regular school attendance is a priority. The Decatur County School System is dedicated to working with parents to improve student attendance. Our hope is that the implementation of the 'School Attendance Initiative' will result in system-wide improvement in regards to attendance.

Absences
3 Unexcused or 5 Excused Absences-Phone Call
4 Unexcused or 6 Excused Absences-Attendance Letter
5 Unexcused or 7 Excused Absences-Social Worker Referral
6 Unexcused or 8 Total Absences-Attendance Support Team Referral

Tardies and Early Dismissals
6 Tardies or Early Dismissals-Phone Call
7 Tardies or Early Dismissals-Attendance Letter
8 Tardies or Early Dismissals-Social Worker Referral
9 Tardies or Early Dismissals-Attendance Support Team Referral

Meetings with the Attendance Support Team may result in an 'Attendance Contract' if the AST deems it necessary. The contract is reviewed with parent and/or student. All parties sign the contract. This meeting is followed with the on-going monitoring of the student's attendance. A broken contract may result in a court referral.

Failure to sign the contract at the AST meeting results in a court referral.

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The State Board of Education at its June 13, 2002 meeting approved the "Student Attendance Indicator" to be used by the Governor's Office of Education Accountability to rank Georgia schools based on student attendance. In addition, new standards for promotion and retention of students have increased the importance of children being in school every day possible. Decatur County School personnel have worked diligently over the past two years to develop and implement the Student Attendance Initiative. This in turn resulted in improved attendance for the Decatur County School system. Incidentally, the School Attendance Initiative was officially adopted by a group of community leaders and submitted to the State Department of Education in the Spring of 2005.

The goals of the School Attendance Initiative include a review of cases of chronic absenteeism, both excused and unexcused, and excessive tardies and early dismissals. An Attendance Support Team (AST) at each school level, elementary, middle and high, will determine contributing factors to poor school attendance, and offer assistance to the family, if appropriate. The process involves monitoring excessive absences, tardies or early dismissals and making contact with parents using phone calls, letters, home visits, and/or appearances before the AST. If parents are asked to appear before the AST, a contract between the school and the parent or student can be drafted.

In the event changes do not occur within a reasonable time, a referral will be made to the Decatur County Juvenile Court or Superior Court for failure to comply with the State's Compulsory Attendance Law, 20-2-690.1.

The Decatur County School System is very sympathetic to the fact that many students are absent due to illness or other legitimate causes. These are not the students that cause the school system concern. It is those students or, in some cases, parents who do not appear to value an education that we are targeting. It is not the intent of this initiative to cause a hardship for parents; only to assist them in making sure regular school attendance is a priority. The Decatur County School System is dedicated to working with parents to improve student attendance. Our hope is that the implementation of the 'School Attendance Initiative' will result in system-wide improvement in regards to attendance.