“Property of Warren County Educational Service Center (WCESC). May not be disseminated without expressed written consent of the WCESC. “

Welcome to the Truancy Education and Prevention Mini-Course

Hello and thank you for taking the first step towards improving your child’s school attendance. There may be a simple solution, or there may be several barriers to overcome. Getting back on track educationally takes work and patience, but you can do it!

Aaron Davis –Aaron.Davis@warrencountyesc.com
(513) 695-2900, ext 3103

Truancy Education and Prevention Mini-Course

This video course was created by former WCESC Truancy Education Group Facilitator, Miranda Lamb, to aid parents, grandparents and guardians in problem solving truancy and tardy issues.

Many times, parents may see that their child is struggling with tardy or truancy issues but are unsure what to do to correct the problem. We have created this mini-course so that your family can gain knowledge, formulate a plan and make the changes necessary to avoid court.

By the end of the course parents will learn to :

• Identify Common Pitfalls that Lead to Truancy.
• Recognize the Truancy Issue your Student is Facing.
• Take the Next Smart Step with your Student.
• Set Your Student up for School Success

How to Use Truancy Education Online Course

1. Watch each video. You will find it helpful to watch together with your student. As the parent or guardian you may wish to preview it before watching with your student.
2. Discuss together. Discuss with your student what you all have learned.
3. Next Steps. Decide as a family what action steps you will take next.
4. Utilize other Resources. Follow the link below each video for additional reading or to print off printable.
5. Complete Quiz. If you have been referred by a school representative or the juvenile court, please complete the appropriate short questionnaire link below at the bottom of this page.

Video #1 Student Organization

Additional Reading

• Organizing Your Disorganized or ADHD Child
• Occupational Therapist Tips to Helping Messy Kids Organize Schoolwork
• How to Set up a Student Binder
• Organizational Hacks for a Stress Free Morning

Video #2 Household Rules

Additional Reading

• 10 Best Consequences for Tweens and Teenagers
• Help! My Kid Refuses to Go to School
• Printable Chore Chart PLUS Work for Hire Chart
• How to Change Your “Lazy” Teen to a Responsible Teenager
• Age Appropriate Chore Chart here and here.

Household Printables

• Home Rules Printable

Video #3 Mental and Physical Health of Students

Additional Reading

• 7 Resources for Finding a Counselor for Your Tween or Teen
• Positive Affirmations to Encourage Teens and Tweens
• A Parent’s Guide to Supporting a Teen Through Depression
• Printable Self-Care Calendar and Activities for Tweens and Teens
• Best Apps for Stressed and Anxious Teens

Additional Resources

• 7 Online Therapy Programs for Kids
• Mayo Clinic Signs and Symptoms of Teenage Depression
• Mayo Clinic Common Mental Health Disorders in Children

Video #4 Household Communication and Expectations

Additional Reading

• How to Teach Kids to Communicate Assertively, Instead of Aggressively
• 10 Vital Communication Skills for Tweens and Teens
• 10 Tricks to Healthy Communication with Your Kids
• Examples of Family Rules and Expectations here and here

Communication Printable

• 4 Reasons You Need a Summer Contract with Tweens and Teens

New and Continuing Truancy and Attendance Regulations to Note:

• Students are allowed 12 excused absences with a parent note.
• Medical notes shall NOT count against the 12 absences.
• Absences, full or partial days, beyond the 12 allowed by parent excuse MUST be excused by a doctor’s note or legal note. (ie: Court, Obituary or Religious Holiday).
• Late arrival: If students arrive after the start of school but within the first 90 minutes, they are listed as tardy and considered a late arrival.
• Absence Procedure: Call the school to notify them that your student is sick and will not be at school. Most schools ask that you call them by 9 am to report your child absent. Send in a parent note or medical note with your child as soon as they return to school. Calling the school lets the school know where your child is. This helps protect your child in the future as the school will notice your child’s unexcused absence more quickly if for some reason your child failed to show without your knowledge.
• Medical/Parent Notes: You have 5 days from the date of the last day absent to turn in your note for the absence to be excused. If the note is not received within those 5 days, the absence will remain unexcused.
• Vacation Approval: Preapproved time out of school is allowed if the student has parent notes remaining that cover the dates requested. Should the student be out of parent notes, the absences would be marked as unexcused. This would also be true for families traveling outside the United States for extended periods of time.
• Should you have any other questions regarding attendance guidelines, please reach out to your student current school building.

New and Continuing Truancy and Attendance Regulations for Online School:

• • Due to state guidelines, most online programs don’t recognize excused absences due to the required amount of hours a student must be signed on.
  • If a student is unable to log in, please reach out to your Academic Coach for guidance regarding how to make up missed assignments and academic hours.
  • Please be mindful that most online programs have a daily and weekly log in requirement. Greater Ohio Virtual School (GOVS) for example, students are required to complete one lesson a day and no less than 25 academic hours in a week.
  • If you have any other questions regarding attendance guidelines, please reach out to your specific online program for guidance as some rules may differ between programs.

-K-12 Attendance Policy

-K-6 Attendance Policy

-7-12 Attendance Policy

-11th and 12th Attendance Policy

Help! My Student is Having Tech Problems!

If your student is doing remote, virtual, hybrid or online school and is having trouble with technology, call the school. Many schools have either help pages with common questions and answers, tech hours where you can receive help at the school or a tech phone number that you can call to receive help over the phone.

As your student is counted absent if they are not logged on or fail to show for a Zoom call, notify the school as soon as possible if your student is having trouble.

Basic Tech Troubleshooting Tips here

Best Wi-Fi fixes here.

What Are My Homeschooling Options?

If you decide to homeschool you have several different options as “homeschooling” can refer to various types of schooling.

Online Public School

You may decide to “homeschool” by teaching your student at home through an online school. Your student is still listed as a public school student.

They may take an online program such as Greater Ohio Virtual School that is locally based in Lebanon, Ohio. Or your student may take online classes in connection with a state program. Your student has the benefits of the public school system in regards to access to a planned curriculum, teacher help, possible tutors and grade and record keeping while still being able to do school from home. Your student must follow the guidelines of the school they are enrolled in. They must be online at the set times or hours required.

Traditional Homeschooling

Some parents may wish to homeschool. If you decide to homeschool your student you must notify the local school district that you are withdrawing your student from the school and provide basic information. With this type of schooling you do have freedom to set your student’s schedule and curriculum. You are then in charge of choosing a curriculum, recording keeping and making sure that your student is tested at the end of the year either by a reading specialist or by using an approved test and test proctor.

Basic overview of Ohio homeschooling can be read here

Home School Legal Defense is a non-profit organization that assists with homeschool advocacy, homeschool forms and understanding your homeschool privileges.

Mini Truancy Education and Support Just for Teens (required for ages 13+)

Is it Really Worth It to Finish High School?

What if you hate school? Or school doesn’t feel like the best fit for you? Is it still worth it to finish?

YES, though the focus of school is on book learning done sitting down in a classroom, there is a whole lot more going on that you may never have thought about before.

Here are just a few of the surprising benefits to finishing high school.

• MONEY! You will make more money. Statistics show that high school graduates make over $10,000 more per working year. That adds up!!

Read more – Check out these money statistics on this post Education Pays.

• Character Development. While in school you may be learning algebra equations, but you are also developing your character.

Read more – Soft Skills You Learn in High School

When you finish high school, you complete one of the major landmarks in your life. This is a huge accomplishment and shows you what you can do when you put your mind to something..

• Life Skills. Life skills are another area you can develop while in school. You can learn how to manage your time, speak in front of others, work as a team on collaborations, get good at reading people and develop good writing skills.

Read more – 7 Habits to Learn in High School for Success

• Mentors and Future References. Utilize this interaction as an opportunity to cultivate mentors. Mentors help us grow, challenge us and teach us new skills.

One of the biggest things that undermine a person that doesn’t graduate from high school, is the fact that they DROPPED out or FAILED to finish one of the first major milestones in life. Later, in life, many drop-outs describe feeling ashamed, leading them to accept a mediocre life. Don’t hide or walk away from accomplishing this major milestone in your life because it got a little hard or you got yourself off track. Head into your adult years, knowing you finish what you started.

How to Create a Schedule Like a Boss!

You have the best of intentions, but then…Oh LOOK. Netflix, just put some new shows on the lineup. And off you go wasting time and being distracted! When it comes to middle school and high school, you need to create some good life habits that help you stay focused, avoid procrastination, keep track of what is due when, and learn to follow through!

So let’s start right now, where you are, and create some strong organizational habits.

1. Find a system that works for you! Chances are that you are beginning to have too much in your weekly schedule to just keep up in your head. Middle School and High school is a great time to begin to explore how you stay organized BEST!
   
   Read More here – How to Get More Organized for Teens
   Read More here – Staying Organized in Middle School
   Read More here- 6 Amazing Organizational Apps for Teens
2. Create a weekly schedule! Make sure you have a good idea of what a typical week truly looks like by writing it all down.
3. Next Create a Morning Routine and an Evening Routine. A smart evening routine prepares you for the next day. And a good morning routine sets the tones for the day , with putting first things first. Read More here – 40 Good Habits for Students to Practice Everyday!
4. Evening Routine. A great evening routine includes some small preparations for the next day and a wind down routine to mentally start signaling to your body that is it time to go to bed. Read More here – 7 Tips for the Best Sleep for Teens
5. Morning Routine. First things first. What is most important to you. Create a morning routine that has something you enjoy. This makes getting up way easier.

If your evening routine is more like an evening disaster where you stay up most nights till 2am streaming shows and texting your friends, only to fall asleep in your clothes, then your poor choices are naturally going to run into the next day, making a rushed, super stressful morning. Start taking charge of your time and your schedule! After all this is your ONE and only life!

How to Kill it During the Teen Years

So what should you be focusing on during the teen years? Should you just be having fun climbing the social ladder in your friend group? Do you just need to focus on school and stress yourself to death if you don’t get all A’s. Perhaps you have been trying to just slide under the radar, hoping no one notices you!

To really be successful during the teen years, you will want to enjoy the present and fun times in your teen years, WHILE you prepare and plan for your future.

So here are some KEY things to keep in mind!

1. Surprise you have a job. YOU are a student. Take school seriously, learn as best you can and always make sure to bring your best even if that looks slightly different than your peers.
2. Know Your Numbers. Keep track and have a general idea of your grades, your high school credits and your ACT score. Remember this is YOUR LIFE. Don’t wing it…or least not every day! Check out this great infographic from parchment.com
   
   
3. Develop Your Hobbies and Talents. You have some raw talents. You have things that come easily to you. Figure out what those are and challenge yourself.
4. Find a Part-Time JOB! Yep, you need a job! You don’t have to wait till you are 17 and finally have a license to get a job. Create your own side hustle. Work for a family friend. The BEST thing about part-time jobs, other than the money, is that they tell you something about yourself.
   Read More here – 5 Benefits to Working a Part-Time Job
5. Think Outside the Box. As you plan your future, think bigger. You may LOVE sports. But maybe you don’t have exactly what it takes to be a professional football player. But think about the whole sports arena. Sports teams need coaches, trainers, managers for the team, football officials, and camera men. So don’t discount your odds of working in a field you love, you just may need to think bigger.Read More here – High Paying Jobs for People Who Love Sports
6. Lastly, A Basic Plan is Better Than NO Plan. Now it is time to create a basic plan. What is a logical next step for you? What is the next skill you would like to learn. Ok, so come up with a plan. And then step out and put your plan in motion. You can always tweak and change your plan as you go!
   Read More here – College Preparation Checklist for High School Juniors
   Read More here – How to Beat High School Graduation Anxiety and Create a Plan

Please Complete the following appropriate questionnaire

-Quiz for Parents and Guardians

–Quiz for Teens Ages 13 and Up

Thank you for watching this short video series from Truancy Education and Prevention at Warren County Educational Service Center.

Aaron Davis
(513) 695-2900, ext 3103