CALSA's Summer Institute 2026

This session highlights Centralia Elementary School District (CESD)'s CSBA Golden Bell Award-winning program, Student Attendance Support Re-imagined: A Restorative SARB to Re-engage Students, which reduced chronic absenteeism by nearly 50% in just one year.
Chronic absenteeism is often treated as a compliance issue, but at CESD, it became an opportunity to redesign systems around relationships, equity, and community. Following a significant post-pandemic rise in absenteeism, CESD shifted from punitive approaches to a restorative, family-centered model that addresses the root causes of student absence. Grounded in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and informed by Harvard’s Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, the program emphasizes early identification through real-time data, culturally responsive family engagement, and cross-sector collaboration with community partners, health providers, and social services.
Participants will learn how CESD built an integrated system that removes barriers such as housing instability, mental health needs, transportation challenges, and access to basic resources. Innovative strategies—including multilingual outreach, home visits, a District Neighborhood Resource Center, and creative solutions like the “Rain or Shine” toolkit—demonstrate how small, intentional actions can lead to significant impact.
This session will also elevate the voices of families and community partners, illustrating how trust, empathy, and collaboration lead to improved attendance, student well-being, and academic outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical strategies and a replicable framework to transform attendance systems into inclusive, community-driven supports that ensure every student is present, engaged, and thriving.