Program Description
ATI-UP is a preventive, school-wide intervention that has school teams following a multi-tiered, multi-system framework intended to increase attendance for all students and reduce the number of students identified as chronically absent. These systems incorporate a problem-solving team, a parental/community engagement component, promotion of attendance in school, and motivation for improvements in behavior. The goal of ATI-UP is to instill a positive social climate in which attendance expectations are directly taught to the students, consistently acknowledged, and actively monitored.
Program Outcomes
In a dissertation by Berg (2018), 27 elementary schools in 15 districts across Oregon were assigned to adopt ATI-UP or serve as a wait-list control group. The sample was 63% White and 25% Hispanic, and 60% qualified for free lunch. 17% were English learners. After one semester, ATI-UP schools increased average daily attendance (effect size =+0.19) and decreased chronic absenteeism (effect size =+0.08), compared to controls. The results were not significant at the school level but were significant at the student level, qualifying ATI-UP for the ESSA “Promising” category for both ADA and chronic absenteeism.
Staffing Requirements
Schools are required to designate a team of at least three members (administrator, interventionist, and teacher) who meet monthly to review attendance data and problem-solving.
Professional Development/Training
School-based teams attend two days of training prior to program start and have access to ongoing technical support via email communication. During the training, teams learn about the core components of ATI-UP and build their school plan for tackling attendance challenges.
Technology
No specific technology required, but teams need access to attendance data