Thanks to all who joined us on November 21, 2024 for our Growing Healthy Minds Session on Chronic Absenteeism & School Refusal: Examining patterns and developing action plans!

By clicking the buttons below, you can access the session recording, presentation slides, and evaluation.

We encourage you to complete the session evaluation so we may continue to meet your needs in future sessions. Completion of this evaluation is necessary for all participants seeking educational credit. Note that you may receive credit for viewing the recording if you were unable to join live. Evaluations may be completed for credit until December 21, 2024.

Thank you to our Speakers:

Laura Williams, MA

School Counselor

Bert Mandelbaum, MD, FAAP

School Physician

Kathy McCutcheon, MSN, RN, NCSN

School Nurse

David Nash, Esq.

School Legal Counsel

Session Resources:

Click on the links below to access resources reviewed during our discussion:

General Resources:

• New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) – Student Attendance
• Appendix A: Sample School Corrective Action Plan Template for Addressing Chronic Absenteeism (PDF)
• Appendix A: Sample School Corrective Action Plan Template for Addressing Chronic Absenteeism (Word)

Resources for Educators:

• Alternatives to Suspension
• Strategies to Reduce Chronic Absence
• YouTube Video - Tackling Chronic Absenteeism
• Addressing the Health-Related Causes of Chronic Absenteeism: A Toolkit for Action
• Every Student, Every Day: A Community Toolkit to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism

Reports:

• Showing Up Matters: The State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey
• A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation's Public Schools: The Importance of Being in School
• Pushed Out: Trends and Disparities in Out-of-School Suspension
• School refusal: When a child won’t go to school

Join us again on our upcoming sessions:

• January 30, 5:30-6:45pm: Supporting the mental health of students with chronic conditions
• February 18, 6:30-7:45pm: Bullying, trauma-sensitive de-escalation and techniques for co-regulation
• March 25, 6:00-7:45pm: Sextortion prevention and response
• April 30, 4:00-5:15pm: Artificial intelligence, cellphone use and social media
• May 22, 4:00-5:15pm: Substance use prevention amongst student-athletes and beyond

Participation on all sessions is not required.

Participants may join individual sessions based on availability.