Throughout the school year, recommendations were revised several times to reflect what was currently known about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and best public health practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic…

The purpose of this qualitative document analysis research study was to explore how public high schools in California create local unexcused absence and truancy policies in similar and different ways. The study used Lipsky's "street-level bureaucracy" and the American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force's definition of…

Background: The effects of individual school dismissal on influenza transmission have not been well studied. During the spring 2009 novel H1N1 outbreak, New York City implemented an individual school dismissal policy intended to limit influenza transmission at schools with high rates of influenza-like illness (ILI). Methods: Active disease…

Alcohol use is a serious public health concern plaguing universities across the country. Drinking patterns, however, often form before the college years. This retrospective study explores the drinking patterns of 443 first- and second-year college students who violated their university's substance use policies and were mandated to a…

The addition of an attendance clerk and the implementation of a system that stresses the importance of attendance have worked well to reduce absenteeism at North Harford Senior High School in Pylesville, Maryland. (Author/MLF)

Truancy can be traced to four causes: an unsupportive school environment, lack of community support, chaotic family life, and personal deficits. School-based responses feature either academic incentives for good attendance, administrative consequences for nonattendance, academic consequences for nonattendance, or supportive services. Counseling…

A new attendance policy is outlined that is credited with significantly reducing unauthorized absences at Hauppauge High School in New York. (Author/MLF)

Educators are participating in a school development initiative that helps them set up an action-planning system to bring about desired changes in their schools. These staff members are participating in School Effectiveness Training (SET), an elementary school program which combines the effective schools research with team building and…