How Automated Attendance Helps Support Student Wellbeing

December 3, 2024
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“Taking attendance is more than marking if a student is at school or not—it can show patterns of student tardies and absences, which are early indicators of a student in distress. By carefully looking at trends, educators can assist in providing earlier interventions.” Dr. Amy Grosso, Director, Resident Expert at Raptor

Accurate attendance tracking—the cornerstone of effective school management—is not just an administrative necessity for safety, funding, and accountability; it’s a powerful tool schools can leverage to support student wellbeing.

However, traditional methods of taking attendance leave gaps and can cause administrative strain. Teachers lose precious class time taking attendance, and the manual entry leaves room for human error such as students arriving late. In addition, students signing out or those eloping—leaving campus without permission after taking a hall pass from class—create further gaps in attendance accuracy.

Gain insight into student wellbeing trends with detailed attendance data

“With schools already struggling with a lack of mental health supports, early intervention means having more options for supporting the student. As students near a crisis level, there are very few resources available—and they’re often costly, both in terms of monetary expense as well as the impact on the student. For example, an early intervention might be a mentor for the student or a coping skills group, which is much easier than a student needing inpatient hospital support.” Dr. Amy Grosso, Director, Resident Expert at Raptor

When schools harness modern, automated systems for tracking attendance, they gain immediate access to data trends across grade levels, campuses, and districts. This real-time insight enables early intervention strategies that are not only timely but also resource-efficient, paving the way for more tailored support programs and enhancing overall student outcomes.

Early intervention is crucial for preventing minor issues from escalating into serious problems. It allows schools to provide timely and effective support, thereby improving overall student wellbeing.

And, data-driven decisions are at the heart of modern educational strategies. They allow schools to tailor their interventions and support programs more effectively, leading to improved student outcomes.

That’s where automated attendance comes in.

Supporting student wellbeing initiatives with automated attendance

“With automated attendance, the data can help schools see trends across grade levels, campus, and district. When you know trends, then you can plan interventions and programming around them.” Dr. Amy Grosso, Director, Resident Expert at Raptor

Modern, per-period attendance gives teachers more instructional time and less administrative burden. Students can check in to class using a QR code, barcode, or RFID tag. Schedule and roster data are pulled from your SIS to ensure accuracy, and attendance data can automatically be sent to your SIS for academic reporting. This empowers school-based student wellbeing initiatives with:

Insight into truancy and hall pass abuse, allowing administrators to identify patterns and create a plan for intervening.
The ability to identify and intervene when necessary if students are chronically absent or late to class.
Notify necessary individuals, such as school counselors and administrators, when students sign-in late, sign-out for early dismissal, or when students are out of compliance with class attendance so school personnel can provide early interventions.

Identify Students in Need of Support Sooner with Raptor

The right tools can serve as a bridge, proactively closing the gap between the early warning signs of a student in crisis and your school’s ability to provide support and intervention.

With Raptor SchoolPass Automated Attendance, schools can more quickly and accurately identify when a student’s attendance is putting them at risk. You can learn more about attendance automation here.