Shortly after Principal Brian R. Johnson took the helm at John Bartram High School in the fall of 2019, he encountered a striking revelation. Reviewing the data provided by the district for this southwest Philadelphia school, nestled within a high-poverty area and grappling with significant absenteeism, Johnson discovered a stark reality: student attendance was largely being overlooked.
Over the subsequent two years, Principal Johnson spearheaded a comprehensive school-wide initiative at John Bartram High School, meticulously crafting an attendance team, appointing and training a dedicated attendance designee, recruiting essential support personnel, and leveraging data to inform, motivate, and guide their efforts. This concerted approach yielded remarkable results, boosting the school’s attendance rate by an impressive 8 percentage points, climbing from 72% to 80%. A foundational element of this transformation was enhancing the school environment and addressing the prevalent issue of suspensions. “Our attendance figures are stronger this year compared to last, and I attribute that to our dedicated efforts and unwavering focus,” Johnson stated.
Building a Dedicated Attendance Team at John Bartram High School
Principal Johnson was already acutely aware of the critical link between consistent attendance and student academic success. In 2016, he actively participated in the Philadelphia team of educators involved in the National Success Mentors initiative. This program aimed to connect over a million students, either experiencing chronic absenteeism or at risk of it, with caring, trained adults and near-peers within their school communities.
Upon examining John Bartram High School’s attendance data, it became unequivocally clear to him that any initiatives to elevate academic achievement within the 400-student school would be futile without addressing the fundamental issue of student presence. The student body at John Bartram High School primarily comprises African/African American students, including a substantial number from African immigrant families, alongside a smaller cohort of Central American immigrant families.
During his initial two weeks, Principal Johnson meticulously reviewed the attendance data daily. He then promptly engaged the school staff, initiating twice-weekly data review sessions that continued for approximately a month.
Initially, the staff at John Bartram High School didn’t grasp the rationale behind scrutinizing the data, Principal Johnson recounted. “It required time to build momentum because this concept was unfamiliar in our environment,” he explained. “Attendance had never been a focal point before.” The prevailing approach to attendance issues was limited to addressing students found outside of class, often treated as a disciplinary matter rather than an attendance concern, simply because students were in the hallways.
In late October, Principal Johnson recognized the burgeoning interest and comprehension of the issue in Simone Knight, the school’s Climate Liaison. He then appointed her as the school’s attendance designee, entrusting her to co-lead the attendance improvement initiatives. Knight now plays a pivotal role in coordinating systems for monitoring both group and individual student attendance data and implementing a multi-tiered support system at John Bartram High School.
Cultivating a Welcoming School Climate at John Bartram High School
Simone Knight collaborated closely with Shirley Carroll*, the District of Philadelphia’s attendance coach. Carroll had been analyzing attendance data, identifying trends such as common attendance patterns among specific student groups, and sharing her insights with Principal Johnson’s attendance team. The team recognized that the school environment at John Bartram High School lacked a welcoming atmosphere and sufficient emphasis on relationship building and student connections. They launched initiatives centered on incentives and positive reinforcement, including leveraging social media, to foster a more positive school climate and support students with satisfactory attendance records (missing less than 5% of school days).
Students identified as at-risk for attendance issues (missing 5-10% of school days) received more personalized interventions, including regular check-ins with staff members. For students categorized as chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), Knight organized traditional student attendance improvement conferences at John Bartram High School. These conferences involved families, guardians, school counselors, and school climate coaches, with teachers kept informed about decisions and implemented strategies.
Principal Johnson and the school team provided training to the school climate support staff, who worked on an hourly basis, and they reviewed attendance figures daily. The climate managers were trained to conduct outreach to students and families, facilitating their reconnection with the school. Furthermore, the entire school staff at John Bartram High School participated in professional development focused on fostering relationship building and implementing welcoming greetings at school entrances.
Addressing Suspension Rates and Implementing Restorative Approaches
Concurrently, Julian Graham, the school’s Climate Manager, embarked on initiatives to improve the school climate and reduce student suspensions at John Bartram High School. “My initial step was to assess the existing environment and understand the context I was operating within,” Graham explained. He prioritized building rapport with students and meticulously examined the reasons behind student suspensions. In certain instances, he even conducted home visits to engage with students and their families.
John Bartram High School eliminated suspensions for minor infractions and adopted a restorative justice approach. This approach empowered students to take ownership of their behavior and, in many cases, the consequences associated with it. Graham observed that the restorative approach also facilitated increased parental involvement.
The school designated a specific room as the Student Success Center, catering to students facing minor suspension offenses. This space provided a structured learning environment during in-school suspensions. Graham emphasizes that John Bartram High School now concentrates suspensions on major offenses, and the school team is actively working to mitigate these types of actions through partnerships with community organizations.
A particular area of focus is the incoming ninth-grade class each year. Research indicates that ninth graders often encounter challenges adapting to a new environment and academic demands, which can lead to lower attendance rates. At John Bartram High School, ninth graders previously had the second-lowest attendance rate in the school. The establishment of the Ninth Grade Academy aimed to establish clear expectations for strong attendance from the outset. Principal Johnson also assigned a dedicated climate manager to focus specifically on this grade level. Remarkably, the freshman class achieved the highest attendance rate in the school in the past academic year, exceeding 95%. This represented a 6.8% increase compared to the pre-COVID 2019-20 school year and a significant 19.2% rise from the 2018-19 school year. Moreover, last year’s freshmen achieved an 87.2% average daily attendance rate, surpassing the district average by 2%, according to Principal Johnson. These improvements are increasing the number of students at John Bartram High School on track for college and career readiness.
A successful Tier 2 strategy implemented at John Bartram High School is known as the Front Door initiative. Through this program, a teacher who has established a positive relationship with a student schedules dedicated time for a conversation. If the student is receptive, the teacher gradually involves other support personnel to assist the student in overcoming barriers to attendance and academic success. Initially conceived for incoming ninth graders, the Front Door program has been expanded to encompass other grade levels at John Bartram High School. It is now integrated into the existing advisory infrastructure for all students.
Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Continued Strategies
When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged last spring, the staff at John Bartram High School prioritized maintaining student engagement and attendance during fully remote learning. They diligently contacted families repeatedly until they established communication. “We consistently reached out to students and families through diverse channels, meeting them where they were to ensure families felt supported,” Johnson explained.
The school ensured that every enrolled student had access to a functional computer, provided by the district. However, residing in an underserved community, internet access remained a challenge for some families. The staff at John Bartram High School formed a “tech team” and proactively addressed this issue. They forged a partnership with Comcast, assisting families in resolving outstanding internet bills, overcoming language barriers, and addressing any other obstacles to establish connectivity for school families. The school even arranged a personal hotspot for a student experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, enabling her to keep up with her schoolwork and ultimately be named valedictorian at the year’s end, Principal Johnson proudly noted.
A novel strategy implemented during the pandemic significantly enhanced the school climate at John Bartram High School: Critical Conversations. This approach, facilitated by Brian L. Johnson (Climate Manager, sharing the same name as the principal), Julian Graham, and other climate team members, fostered relationship building, particularly with students facing attendance challenges. Initially conducted in a written format, students were encouraged to express themselves openly and ask questions. These discussions evolved into addressing sensitive topics for students, including gang-related issues within the school and community, and the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. “We are unique in having a significant number of Black men on staff at the school,” Principal Johnson remarked. “Both boys and girls expressed that they were asking questions they felt they couldn’t ask others because they didn’t see people who looked like them, or like us.”
Principal Johnson continued to utilize student-level data throughout the pandemic to motivate teachers and promote student engagement in learning at John Bartram High School. Staff members proactively identified students at risk of chronic absenteeism and developed individualized attendance plans for them. A key objective of these plans is to cultivate students’ understanding and accountability regarding their own attendance and its connection to both short-term and long-term success in school, explained Jennifer Reed, Assistant Principal. This approach proved particularly beneficial for students transferring to John Bartram High School. “We engaged in frank and honest conversations with them about how we could support them in making regular attendance a priority,” Principal Johnson stated. Of the approximately 32 students who transferred during the past school year, only one was referred for truancy services, he reported.
Continuing the Focus on Attendance in the Future
This fall, regardless of whether students are learning virtually or in person, John Bartram High School remains committed to nurturing an attendance culture that strengthens the connection between students, families, and the school. The school will continue to emphasize the message that consistent attendance is crucial for students’ academic progress. The upcoming school year will commence with an orientation program for every student, and plans are underway to develop student leadership capacity, enabling current students to support incoming students. John Bartram High School will implement a new Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework in the fall, prioritizing a student-centered approach.
The Front Door initiative will continue to be available to all students, and staff will sustain the impactful Critical Conversations. Climate Manager Johnson emphasized that these Critical Conversations have opened doors for students at John Bartram High School, fostering trust and bridging the gap between students and school staff. “I believe this has also positively impacted attendance, as students have come to understand that we genuinely care about them,” he concluded.
* Shortly after this blog post was published, we learned that Shirley Carroll had passed away. We dedicate this post to Shirley in honor of her compassion, caring and commitment to all of the students that she had the opportunity to serve.
