Next LCAP Live! Highlights Riverside USD’s Attendance Initiatives
When students are not in school, they cannot learn, and students who miss multiple days of school each month are considered chronically absent. Research shows that students who are chronically absent are more likely to drop out of high school and face additional challenges throughout their lifetime.
All 23 districts across Riverside County are addressing attendance challenges in a variety of creative ways. The efforts of one district, Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), are the focus of the newly-released fifth episode of the award-winning LCAP Live! video series produced by the Riverside County Office of Education.
In this episode of LCAP Live!, the spotlight shines on the various layers of support that students in RUSD receive in the area of attendance. The voices of students, teachers, and administrators, discuss the critical importance of daily attendance. The episode references the district’s Attendance Improvement Plan in which pupil services, teachers on special assignment (TOSAs), the district attendance team, and site attendance teams, all follow monthly activities and tasks aligned with a tiered approach to increase attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism.
Each year, the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) supports all 23 districts in the county through the development and review of their Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP) plans. After reading through thousands of pages of plans, programs, and outcomes, the RCOE Assessment, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement (AACI) Unit within RCOE’s Educational Services Division wanted to find a way to “lift” great ideas off the pages of a district’s LCAP, and spotlight exemplary programs that other districts could consider for their next LCAP plan. The LCAP Live! video series was developed in early 2023 to showcase equity in action through LCAP activities that are making a difference within Riverside County districts.
Previous LCAP Live! episodes have featured:
- RISE Program lowering suspension rates at Val Verde USD
- Migrant Leadership Club at Coachella Valley USD
- Dell Student Tech Crew at Jurupa USD
- Foster youth programs at Lake Elsinore USD
Since its launch, the series has received regional and state awards from the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA), and the Public Relations Society of America-Inland Empire Chapter (PRSA-IE).