Attendance as a Behavioral Outcome: Addressing the Root Cause of Chronic Absenteeism

Attendance as a Behavioral Outcome: Addressing the Root Cause of Chronic Absenteeism

March 24th | 2:00pm ET | 1:00pm CT

With attendance tied directly to accountability, funding, and student success, districts are searching for more effective ways to address chronic absenteeism.

In this webinar, we’ll share new research showing that students who demonstrate growth in social-emotional competence are significantly less likely to be chronically absent. These findings offer powerful insights for districts seeking proactive, prevention-focused approaches to attendance improvement.

Continuing Education Credit:
Participants who attend the live session will be eligible to receive CEUs. Additional details regarding CE credit requirements and documentation will be provided during the webinar.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn how to:

• Explain the connection between social-emotional competence and chronic absenteeism using recent district research findings.
• Identify early behavioral indicators associated with increased absenteeism risk.
• Use screening and progress-monitoring data to proactively identify students who may benefit from additional social-emotional supports.
• Apply a root-cause framework to attendance that considers behavioral, mental health, and engagement factors.
• Implement school-wide and targeted strategies that strengthen protective skills linked to improved attendance outcomes.
• Identify practical next steps for integrating social-emotional data into district attendance improvement efforts.

About the Presenters: 

Dr. Evelyn Johnson: Vice President, Research and Development For over 25 years, Dr. Evelyn Johnson has conducted research on a variety of education issues including multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), screening and progress monitoring, self-regulated learning, and teacher observation systems. Her research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institute of Health, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and private foundations including the Kellogg Foundation and the Murdock Charitable Trust.   

Evelyn has authored/co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, 3 books, and several book chapters, served as a field editor for the journal Exceptional Children, and as the associate editor for the journal Assessment for Effective Intervention, and has developed national technical assistance guidance for the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and OSEP to support state education agencies with MTSS implementation.   

Jennnifer Robitaille: Director of Research and Development, Jennifer L. Robitaille earned her B.A. in psychology from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and her master’s degree in research psychology from Villanova University. For the past decade, Jennifer has focused her work on strength-based approaches to the measurement and promotion of social and emotional competence and resilience in children, youth, and the adults who care for them. She has provided consultation, professional development, and evaluation services to early care and education, school, and out-of-school-time settings using the strength-based assessment suite including the DECA for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers and the DESSA for grades K–12. Jennifer is an author of the EdSERT program, a professional development program focused on enhancing educators’ knowledge and effective use of social and emotional learning teaching practices. Her primary research interests focus on the measurement of social and emotional competence and resilience in children and youth, the promotion of educator well-being and social and emotional teaching practices, and program implementation. 

Emily Taylor: Research Associate. Emily Taylor, M.Ed. earned her B.A. in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master’s degree in measurement, evaluation, statistics, and assessment from the University of Illinois- Chicago. Her work focuses on social and emotional learning (SEL), assessment development, and educational research.