What’s in a Minute?

How Technology Supported Our Culture Shift

Nicolet High SchoolDavid Coyle - Associate PrincipalJosh Zimmers - Associate PrincipalJohn Reiels - Director of Technology

https://goo.gl/afKqdT

What was the problem we set out to solve?● We realized we had the opportunity to increase

instructional time by making sure○ students were in class (decrease absences)○ students were in class on time (decrease tardiness)○ students remained in class.

● If we could add one minute of instructional time per class, we could gain 21 hours of instructional time per student in each school year.

https://goo.gl/afKqdT

What was the problem we set out to solve?● Tardiness (during the day)

○ 5,388 tardies in Sem 1 of 2016-2017 school year for 1,125 students

○ 482 Tardy Discipline Offenses in Sem 1○ Paperwork was bogging us down

● 80 teachers = 80 tardy policies○ No consistency among teachers

https://goo.gl/afKqdT

What was the problem we set out to solve?● Accuracy of attendance taken by teachers and

substitutes○ Was this student really here for 6 periods in two days in spite of

missing 10 others?

● Consistent policies and enforcement of policies-equity○ Needed consistent expectations with uniformly applied consequences,

not 80 tardy policieshttps://goo.gl/afKqdT

The Problem:● Tardies were

rapidly increasing annually

● Nearly 2 times more discipline offenses for tardies than all others combined

https://goo.gl/afKqdT

The Problem:

Our Goal:

District Priority for 2018-19: Change the culture of attendance (being on time) to become a priority for students.

Culture Change● Implementation of one tardy policy

○ Door closes at the bell○ Be in the room at the bell or get tardy pass in the office

■ Tardy pass from Tardy Kiosk in office○ Uniform consequences for 5, 10, 15, 20 tardies

● Students responsible for attendance○ Positive Attendance scanners in classrooms○ Students must scan in, view name/check-in status

Planning: Building Consensus● March: District Leadership Team (District and School

Administrators)○ Discussed deploying two Skyward systems

■ Oconomowoc High School: Positive Attendance using scanners■ Sauk Prairie High School: Tardy Kiosks

● April: Building Leadership Team (Teachers and Support Staff)○ Logistics, Feedback

● April: Department Team Leaders (Department Chairpersons)○ Budget Meeting: Approval of funding

Communication Strategy ● July: Registration Packet

○ Highlighted new attendance system and expectations on a separate flyer● August: Student Registration Day

○ Postcards, Poster, Table Signs, Scanner with sample ID’s● August: All Staff

○ Training, practice, troubleshooting● September: Back to School Night

○ Parents

Communication Strategy● September: Grade Level Meeting

○ Step-by-step procedures○ Outlined the consequences○ Fielded questions

● September: Parent Groups○ PTSO, MEPA, PAC, School Board

● Ongoing: Individualized○ Coaching - FAQ sheet○ Students with special needs○ Responding to parent concerns

Implementation Strategies ● All students must have AND carry an ID card

○ Store a picture of their ID on their phone○ Have Skyward Mobile App on their phone for mobile ID ○ ID card sleeve for their phones

● What happens when students forget their ID card?○ Use the picture on their phone○ Temporary paper ID

■ 30-40 students a day at the beginning of the year■ Tracking students that repeatedly didn’t have an ID

○ Skyward Mobile App ID dropped daily ID printing to single digits○ Manual attendance by a teacher

Implementation Strategies ● Staff in hallway to remind students to get to class on time● All teachers must close their doors at the bell

○ Consistency is key!● Admin and other staff send students to the office● Tardy kiosks have keypad disabled for speed and accuracy● Students began saying to friends “I have to get to class” vs.

prior years, “It’s okay, he never marks me tardy”

Implementation Strategies● One uniform hall pass for all

students○ No more objects or handmade passes○ Students must have some type of hall

pass○ Reduce students in hallways during

class periods● This was an essential

component of changing the culture

Results

What difference has this made in our culture?● Tardies during the

school day have decreased by nearly 65% compared to last year

● Students are in class, not in the hallway

What difference has this made in our culture?● Tardies during the

school day have decreased by nearly 65% compared to last year

● Students are in class, not in the hallway

After Implementation: What difference has this made in our culture?● Students assume responsibility for being on time

○ Students and teachers value time in class○ Teachers get 47 minutes of instructional time per period

● Flexible learning environments-account for students where they are, not where they are scheduled to be

● Exam week attendance is a reminder for teachers of the past● Carrying a student ID becomes a habit before they start college

What difference has this made in our culture?● Semester 1 Tardy

Offenses down from prior years○ Doesn’t directly

correlate to tardy data because of inconsistent referrals from teachers in prior years

What difference has this made in our culture?● Administrators

met with students for 115 tardy referrals last semester instead of 482 in the same period last year

Next Steps:● Piloting “nudges” to attempt to address tardies to school. ● Targeting a randomly selected cohort of students that had

3-7 tardies to school during Quarter 2, we will use Remind.com to nudge students to be on time to school.

Technology Needed for Culture Shift● Tardy Kiosk Equipment

○ Tardy Kiosk Scanner○ Networked tardy pass printer (can serve more than one kiosk)○ Dedicated computer so secretary doesn’t have to stop working

● Positive Attendance○ PASS+ Scanner in each room

(we used PoE so no power cord required)■ Networked directly to Skyward with

no computer needed○ Lockable box for scanners in public areas

Technology That Supports Our Culture Shift● Tardy Kiosk and printer in main office● Tardy students return to office to scan at the

Tardy Kiosk before allowed to enter classroom○ New tardy automatically added to their semester count○ Hall pass printed with a count of tardies-students see

that and keep track○ Minimal time needed from office personnel○ Students are responsible for their own attendance

One Tardy Policy = Consistent Enforcement● Skyward monitors tardy count for us and triggers actions

○ 5 tardies = lunch detention○ 10 tardies = 1 hour after school detention, discipline referral, and loss of

exam exemption○ 15 tardies = 1 hour after school detention, discipline referral, and meeting

with parent and administrator○ 20 tardies = 1 hour after school detention, discipline referral, and a

referral to the school resource officer for a truancy citation

Skyward Features that Save Staff Time● Automate tasks with Skyward

○ Tardies are counted○ Detentions are issued○ Communication is sent to the student and parent○ Discipline entries are created○ Detentions are tracked

● ...without staff involvement in the office!● Previously, AP’s spent Monday calling students to office to

hand out detention slips at a rate of 25-30 per Monday

Positive Attendance in the Classroom● All students are unexcused until they report to class● Students marked present upon entry

● Previous system, students were assumed present unless teacher/office marked absent

Positive Attendance in the Classroom● Attendance shows the room they are in

○ Office likes that student locator shows where students actually are■ Classes sometimes meet in alternate rooms/library■ Students have choice of location during study hall

time, but must be somewhere

Positive Attendance in the Classroom● No change in attendance on days when a

sub is in the room● Record attendance during open choice

resource periods where students are not on a roster

● Monitor attendance/participation in classes & activities where students choose when to attend

Minutes Matter at the Classroom Level● Students arrive on time and record their own attendance

using the PASS+ scanner● Teachers don’t need to wait for the bell to begin attendance

○ Attendance is done when the bell sounds○ Teachers can do something else during the passing time○ Class starts when the tone sounds (or before)

● Class periods are already short, getting an extra minute or two makes a difference

A few tips from experience...● Disable the keypads from day one

○ Students can carry their ID○ ID image on Skyward Mobile App

(new-Oct. 2017)● Locate scanners near, but not next to doors● Associate scanners with rooms in Skyward,

not teachers

A few tips from experience...● Lock scanners in hallways/common

areas● Have teachers verify attendance

A few tips from experience...● PASS+ scanners should be on their own VLAN● Mount away from the wall slightly● Do not allow classroom PASS+ code to overwrite Tardy

Kiosk code (new feature)● Skyward server and school clocks must be synchronized● Disable utility that marks students absent on days when

school is cancelled-oops!

School Technology Associates Will Help● Exclusive Skyward partner for

○ PASS+○ Tardy Kiosk and hall pass printer○ Other Skyward connected solutions

School Technology Associates Will Help● Ask for their guide on how to automate the Tardy Kiosk

processes support@k12sta.com○ Record the tardy with the Tardy Kiosk○ Print the hall pass○ Assign consequence when threshold is reached○ Create the discipline record○ Communicate infraction and consequence○ Track when student serves detention

Thanks to Our Partners● Dan Hoerl - School Technology Associates, Inc.● Shane Been - Sauk Prairie High School for Tardy Kiosk Guidance and Site

Visit● Joseph Moylan - Oconomowoc High School for Positive Attendance Ideas and

Site Visit● Russ Conger - Skyward for helping develop the automated process

Questions?● David Coyle

○ David.Coyle@nicolet.us● Josh Zimmers

○ Josh.Zimmers@nicolet.us● John Reiels

○ John.Reiels@nicolet.us