Classroom Management: 5 Tips to Deal Effectively with Constant Tardiness and Absenteeism
You know how it is. You plan your lessons. You get to school early so that you are prepared for the day. You grade on the weekend to be sure you can give effective and timely feedback. And then…kids are constantly late and absent, undoing everything you tried to accomplish. Read here for tips on how to handle constant tardiness and absenteeism.
Tip #1: Getting Parents on Board to Deal with Constant Tardiness and Absenteeism
One of the most effective ways to deal with constant tardiness and absenteeism is to get parents on board. Here are some ways to do this:
Back to School Night: Give parents a sample agenda for the day. Highlight how much work is being done in class, and the lessons that you are teaching that can’t be replicated. Communicate that you understand being absent and late is a fact of life, but how difficult it is for kids to make up work when they are absent and late unnecessarily. You’ll also want to clearly communicate your system for when a student is absent (see below).
Emails: When I had a student who was constantly absent, I would email the work home to the parent and child. This way, they could see in writing how much they missed. I would simply list what we did and maybe comment with something like: “We did this lesson as a group, but Jack will need to read through it on his own so that he is not lost when doing the assignment”. I would occasionally do the same when kids were constantly late. Be sure your tone is one of concern for the student, as this will go a long way.
Phone Call: Even though it can be a “time suck”, sometimes a call home is what is needed for constant tardiness and absenteeism. I would start out by asking if everything is ok, to show your concern first and foremost for the student’s well-being. Then you can politely let them know that their child is falling behind due to constant tardiness and absenteeism and that it is (most likely) stressful for the child. I would tread very lightly here and make sure that your tone is one of concern, not of annoyance (we teachers need to be pretty good actors at times, lol).
Tip #2: Having a Streamlined System for Absenteeism
Do yourself a favor: set up a system to deal with constant tardiness and absenteeism. You don’t want to be shuffling around everytime a student is absent or late. Here is what worked for me:
Absent Basket: When my students arrive, they are working on setting up for the day and completing a “do now” activity. This is when I take attendance and then I grab a set of handouts for the day for each absent student, clip them together with the absent student’s name, and put them in my “absent basket”. This only takes a minute, and then students know to look there when they return.
Google Classroom (or any digital learning platform): Students are told that when they are absent, they need to check here. I post my daily agenda and handouts here. If you’d like a free copy of a digital seasonal daily agenda, click here. It’s so helpful because then kids will know exactly what they missed, and it’s easy to fill in and pop up each day.
Tests/Missed Work Due Dates Students need clear expectations of how much time they get when they are absent. I am very lenient when a student is sick; I tell them to come and talk to me so we can sort it out. However, if a student is absent due to other reasons (vacation, “personal days”, etc.), they have to follow the due dates of the class (or give them one additional day). It’s better to impose a strict rule and then call kids over and tell them you are giving them, say, 2 extra days than to give too much time. We all know that work that goes past due dates often becomes irrelevant. I find it best to tell kids that when they are absent to come and see me in homeroom (as I have a few moments then) to go over when their stuff is due. I would suggest picking a time for students to come see you or having them email you…do what works best for you. Whatever you decide, communicate this clearly with both students and parents at the beginning of the year and post your rules on your digital learning classroom for the year.
I’m talking about being late to class here, not being late to school. We all have those students who move at their own pace and are constantly late. Here are some suggestions:
Communicate Consequences: This should be done at the beginning of the year and posted on your digital learning classroom for the year. For me, one time is a warning, two times is a parent email, and 3 times is a lunch detention and a referral to the vice principal. Hopefully, your school has a system in place. Mine did NOT so our grade level team made this our policy. Whatever it is, be sure to clearly communicate this with parents and students.
Talk to the Student: You might have a student who has to come from a different wing in the school or from a teacher who constantly holds them late. Not all of our students feel comfortable letting us know, so it’s good to check in to see if there is something we can do to help. You might want to take this opportunity to make some suggestions on how to get to class on time. Some things that have worked for me and my students are devising a locker schedule and having kids drop their items off for my class during homeroom so they can hustle over here. Sometimes just a one-on-one talk is most effective.
Tip #4: Getting Help from Admin with Constant Tardiness and Absenteeism
I would definitely use this as my first line of defense for constant tardiness and absenteeism. You want to be sure to follow your school’s policy. Sometimes, asking admin to speak with the student or call home can be very effective for our “frequent flyers”. I also recommend asking admin or a mentor teacher to look over any parent emails before sending if you are unsure.
Tip #5: Have a Teacher/Student Meeting
As stated above, sometimes having a teacher/student meeting is extremely effective when dealing with constant tardiness and absenteeism. Many of our middle schoolers are learning to “fly under the radar” for many reasons. They might be taking advantage of you or they might really be overwhelmed and need help. They might even just need to know that you care. Here are some suggestions:
Schedule a Meeting: Making it “official” will show students that you care and “mean business”. I tell them that I’d like to meet with them after class and that their next-period teacher has been informed that they will be late (be sure to arrange that ahead of time, being respectful of other teachers’ time).
Keep the Door Open: Never meet with a student alone behind closed doors. You probably know that, but thought it bore repeating.
Have a Short Agenda: Depending on the severity, I sometimes print an agenda for a student because it makes it more “official”. Or, I just jot some notes ahead of time.
Keep it Brief: You should probably keep this to about 10 minutes.
Keep it Serious, but Positive and Action-Based: Convey your concerns to the student. Tell them that you are meeting with them because you care about them and want them to do well. Tell them exactly what you expect from them. You can’t tell a student to not be absent, but you can tell them something like, “The next time you are absent, I expect you to check Google Classroom, make up the work in one day, get the handouts that you missed from the absent basket without being reminded, and to check in with me during homeroom about due dates”.
Follow-Up Email: Email home and let the parents know that you spoke with their child. Communicate the expectations that you discussed. I would be very careful to make the tone positive and helpful; you want the parent to know that what you are doing is for their child’s benefit.
Although this seems like extra work, I can assure you that it is time well spent and will ultimately save you time as you probably can solve the problem of constant tardiness and absenteeism right here and now.
Constant Tardiness and Absenteeism: 3 Big Takeaways
Prevention: Communicating your expectations with students and parents goes a long way in preventing this problem.
Caring: Students might have issues that we don’t know about. A student might be late all the time due to a new divorce situation. Emailing/calling home might let you know of an issue you didn’t know a student had.
Action Items: When a student is struggling with constant tardiness and absenteeism, give them a plan of action. This will empower the student and give them tangible things to do to make improvements.
Need More Help? Membership is Open Now!
Doing everything yourself is daunting. So if you are interested, I’ve developed a membership for ELA teachers. This has been highly requested. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do because I know how ill-prepared many new teachers are after college. This has nothing to do with the teachers and everything to do with teachers’ colleges and the lack of good onboarding in districts in our country.
It’s a very robust membership. Some of the highlights:
Complete curriculum map with access to 9 full-month units for the year
Access to literacy centers, mini-lessons, a full-year grammar program, choice boards, video lessons, and seasonal activities
Access to a private Facebook group, where I can answer your questions and go live to help you with more complex units
Click here for more information. As of now, we are in the “founding members” stage. You can lock into the price for as long as you keep up your membership. As I’m adding daily activities and Doodle Notes, the price is going up in January.
Questions/Comments
If you are a new teacher and have questions, please comment below. If you are an experienced teacher, I would LOVE to have you comment with any of your input and expertise on dealing with constant tardiness and absenteeism. Drop a comment below!
Wishing you all the best this month on your classroom management journey.