Familiar Faces in High School: How Having the Same Peers from Year-to-Year Links to Student Absenteeism

Student absenteeism is a persistent concern in K-12 education. Not only are the negative academic and social consequences of excessive absenteeism well documented, but states, districts, and schools are increasingly being held accountable for student attendance. As research indicates that disruptions in students’ learning contexts may exacerbate absenteeism, peer consistency shows promise as a force for improving student attendance. This article examines whether having familiar faces, or consistent classmates from one year to the next, influences student attendance. Using four years of administrative data from a small, urban high school district in California, we find that familiar faces are associated with reduced rates of overall absences, chronic absenteeism, and chronic truancy.

Why did a U.S. secondary school district retain teacher-librarians in a time of economic crisis?

The number of U.S. teacher-librarians has greatly diminished despite advocacy efforts by stakeholders. This case study investigated the factors that led governing board members in a mid-sized urban high school district to retain certified teacher-librarian positions despite a major economic crisis. Themes constructed through the analysis were: stakeholder involvement; transparency in communication; trust between district leadership and the governing board; a commitment to the district’s core values; and the value placed on the school library program by the district’s stakeholders. Future research should investigate school districts’ decision-making processes in the retention of teacher-librarian positions during economic crises.

Enhanced Attendance Monitoring System using Biometric Fingerprint Recognition

In this study, an enhanced attendance monitoring system using biometric fingerprint recognition in tracking and monitoring employees’ attendances for Callang National High School, District 04, San Manuel, Isabela was introduced. For most organizations, handling people is a daunting job in which it is very important to maintain an accurate record of attendance. Taking and maintaining the attendance of employee manually on a regular basis is a big activity that requires time. For this reason an effective system was designed. The system was designed and developed primarily to improve the monitoring of employees attendances and leave management through the use of biometric technology. It records the data of the employees, handles leave management, tracks employee attendance and encourages participation through fingerprint recognition. The system is equipped with a dashboard monitoring system that can be viewed by school heads to track the list of employees, early birds (employees who arrived early), on-leave staff, on-official business and a statistical graph of the monthly attendance rate of employees. Moreover, the system provides an auto-generated DTR for employees which saved time compared to the manual process. The innovation greatly affects the improvement of employees’ attendance through its automated attendance monitoring, leave management and report generated by the system. The impact of EAMS to the employees was identified through first quarter attendance report of SY 2028-2019 which served as a bases of comparison with the attendance rate of SY 2019-2020 when the system was implemented. The outcome shows that through the usage of the system, employees’ attendance has improved.

Analysis of constraints and innovation of chemistry experiment implementation in high school in Deli Serdang, Indonesia

Practical activities play an important role in science education. Through it, students develop a deeper understanding of standing theoretical concepts, skill, utilization of technology, and methods for investigation with direct manipulation of related materials. Effective use of laboratories is one of the requirements in learning chemistry, especially in experiment material. However, problems that are often encountered in learning in the laboratory are laboratory management which includes the procurement process, application process, and the maintenance process. The research method used was observation, document recording and interview with all chemistry teachers and students at Labuhan Deli Senior High School and Percut Sei Tuan Senior High School, District of Deli Serdang, Indonesia. Stages in the research of this are (1) observation based on National Education Standards, (2) observation of chemistry experiments implementation, (3) observation of constraint and problems laboratory at school, and (4) determine alternative solution. The result showed that area of chemistry laboratory has suitable with BSNP standart, but the standard of facilities and infrastructure category reference scale (PAP), showed less category results. So the settlement by researchers on this problem is to do a simple practicum that can be done in an open space or using the technology (virtual laboratory) to increase the students’ skill in industrial 4.0.

Leveraging Diversity and Inclusivity in Japanese Teacher Community in an American High School District

In this modern society, a successful team is defined by how well it embraces inclusivity and diversity practices. In order to build a community in which such practice is the norm, first we must establish the environment where each team member can bring his thoughts without fear of judgement, suspension of her own perceptions, seek opportunities to stretch perspectives, and equity of voice is ensured. Such a professional learning community requires clear purpose, shared values, and mindful meeting facilitation. The success of a PLC results in the team's collective efficacy as Albert Bandura defines "a group's shared belief in its conjoint capability to organize and excute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainment" (1997). We must pay close attention to how to establish a PLC that is inclusive and seeks diverse viewpoints, and cultivates our inner selves while developing communication skills to understand and be understood.