Learning Opportunities

WEBINAR: Present for a Purpose (For Administrators): Enhancing Systems to Improve Student Attendance

Presented By

Hanna Duffy, Chris Pawluk & Kristy McConnell

Series Sessions

Date	Time
Thursday, February 08, 2018	4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Location

Online Online

TARGET AUDIENCE: ALL ADMINISTRATORS AND DISTRICT LEADS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND

Attending school on a regular basis is fundamental to the positive development of children. It is estimated that more than 100,000 students in Alberta are impacted by school absenteeism and are placed at significant risk of negative future outcomes, such as economic disadvantage and mental health challenges. Recognizing the prevalence of absenteeism, Rocky View Schools launched the Attendance Innovation Campaign which aimed to educate communities as to the importance of attendance, empower schools to utilize data to monitor and improve practice, and eliminate barriers to student attendance through a system of tiered interventions. During this webinar, the techniques, resources, and preliminary results from the Attendance Innovation Campaign will be presented. This interactive professional development workshop is geared at administrators interested in learning more about implementing attendance initiaitves and strategies in their schools or districts.

This learning opportunity is being offered through a high school completion grant from Alberta Education

Hanna Duffy

is a researcher and registered psychologist with Rocky View Schools. In her role as Project Lead of the Attendance Innovation Campaign, Dr. Duffy manages the implementation of a tiered intervention model for absenteeism and collaborates with local, national, and international bodies on advocacy and redesign initiatives related to attendance. Prior to her involvement with the Attendance Innovation Campaign, Dr. Duffy served as the Project Coordinator of a multi-year, multi-disciplinary project evaluating the effects of medication on behavioural, cognitive, neuropsychological, and academic functioning of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and has extensive experience coordinating and facilitating research projects that include numerous stakeholders and community partners.

Chris Pawluk

is the Lead Psychologist for Rocky View Schools. He is responsible for enhancing the social-emotional, behavioural, and mental well being of all Rocky View students through supports to schools and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including 75 divisional staff in 54 schools for 25,000 students. Chris works closely with various Alberta universities to facilitate research and training of teachers, psychologists, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists. A Clinical Supervisor in the Werklund School of Education, Chris most recently taught a graduate level class on Advanced Clinical Supervision. Chris has worked on a number of collaborative education projects in three countries over the last 20 years.

Kristy McConnell

is a registered psychologist with Rocky View Schools. Previous to her work as a school psychologist, Kristy was a special education teacher for a number of years and provided counselling services at an Employee and Family Assistance Program. Kristy recently concluded a two-and-a-half year research project entitled "Flexible Pathways to Success" where she was the Project Lead and is currently the Campaign Catalyst for the Attendance Innovation Campaign.