Dear SCUSD Principals and Staff,

First of all, Congratulations!  SCUSD’s Chronic Absence Indicator on the 22-23  CA School Dashboard has moved from Orange up to Yellow! Thank you for prioritizing attendance for each and every student. Your MTSS Attendance Teams and tiered interventions are working! Attendance Rates are even better this year!  Keep up the good work.

The New Truancy Process is finally underway! A heartfelt thank you to everyone for your hard work and dedication seeing this through, Steve Bruno is definitely the MVP. Thank you. The first Truancy Letters will be sent out as we return from Winter Break, you do not need to do anything this first round, the care team is processing this first round.  Sites will take over in January so make sure to attend one of our trainings.  Contact Sandra-Laird@scusd.edu for more info or to sign-up.

Truancy Process Highlights:

Managed by CARE Team: The Office of Student Attendance & Engagement’s CARE Team, with their Connect. Ask. Relate. Engagement approach, is overseeing the truancy process. Their relationship-focused lens ensures a supportive and understanding environment for our most vulnerable families as everyone struggles to transition back to business as usual after Distance Learning.

Revised Process in EveryDay Pro (EDP): Our truancy process is now more efficient and user-friendly, utilizing EveryDay Pro. This requires minimal effort from school sites, with just a few minutes per week to review and adjust (if needed) the list of students meeting the truancy threshold.

Key Changes in the Truancy Process:

Letters Triggered: Previously, notices were sent on the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th unexcused absences, Now they will be mailed out on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th unexcused absences, giving parents more time to verify their student’s absences.

Letters Generated: Through EDP instead of by school sites. Yay! Less busy work for our amazing attendance staff!

Weekly Approval: Staff now approve letters weekly for quicker more accurate data and response.  No messy calendars and schedules for printing, you can log in when you choose… as long as Truancy Notices are sent weekly!

Training Opportunities:

To ensure a smooth transition, we’ve held 5 training sessions in December, and will be adding two additional dates in January. All administrators and attendance staff are required to attend at least one 30-minute session. We invite all SCUSD staff to join this crucial step in enhancing our support system.  If you have not attended one yet, please watch your inbox for a calendar invite.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our students’ success. Your hard work is truly appreciated.

Please review the 23-24 NEW TRUANCY PROCESS. Full instructions can be found here: How To: Generate Truancy Letters in EDP.