Greenwood School District 50
Position Description

POSITION TITLE: Attendance Officer

Department: CIC

Reports To: Director of Case Management

Prepared by: Date:

Approved by: Date:

SUMMARY: Works with school officials and others to enforce state laws designed to ensure that each student shall have full advantage of educational opportunities through regular school attendance. The attendance officer shall use every available resource in the community to assist students in learning to live more happily, successfully, and safely. The attendance officer shall also help parents to recognize the importance of a consistent pattern of regular school attendance.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Other duties may be assigned.

Þ Confers with principals, teachers, and guidance counselors regarding students who are frequently absent or tardy after the school has made an initial contact and attempts on the part of the school at solving the problem have been documented.

Þ Attends conferences with guidance counselors and school psychologists concerning problems that may relate to attendance.

Þ Serves as a team member in case conferences.

Þ Assists with the enrollment of students in the homebound instruction program.

Þ Provides for individual and group counseling as a follow-up measure to the routine procedure of checking and investigating cases of irregular attendance patterns.

Þ Distributes forms and supplies from the local district and the State Department of Education for use in reporting enrollment and for maintaining day-to-day attendance records.

Þ Cooperates with the State Department of Education concerning information on dropouts and other related attendance matters.

Þ Develops projects and public relations to promote regular school attendance.

Þ Parent Liaison:

Þ Shares knowledge of compulsory attendance laws and explains them to parents and students in an informative, concise, and professional manner.

Þ Serves as liaison between the family and the schools.

Þ Refers parents and/or students to appropriate health and human service agencies for support and assistance.

Þ Community Liaison:

Þ Cooperates with social workers on cases involving child abuse and neglect.

Þ Refers families or individuals to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health when this is deemed appropriate.

Þ Confers with representatives of the South Carolina Department of Youth Services about students who must be referred to the judicial system.

Þ Works closely with the South Carolina Department of Social Services on mutual cases.

Þ Cooperates with and seeks assistance from other community agencies such as the police, doctors, clergymen, vocational rehabilitation personnel, juvenile authorities, and substance abuse agencies.

Þ Consults with and receives approval from appropriate school officials regarding referral of case to family court or other courts having jurisdiction over juveniles.

Þ Accepts cash, clothing, shoes, and similar articles from organizations and county or community agencies from distribution to families who are in need of such items to keep their children in school.

Miscellaneous Duties:

There are some things that the school cannot do by itself for students and parents. Attendance services is a branch of the school district that reaches out into the community for more help and services. The attendance officer uses all resources of the community to ensure that all children have a chance to go to school and succeed.

The attendance officer makes use of every person and agency in the community in an effort to help children learn to live happily, safely, and successfully. Attendance officers try to help children understand why they should get as much education as possible and they try to help parents understand why their children should attend school regularly. They look for extra help outside the home and school, and when it is needed or requested, inside the home or school setting. Attendance officers try to determine why children stay away from school. Through cooperative effort, they remove the barriers to school attendance.

School Liaison:

The principals, guidance counselors, and attendance clerks identify problems of attendance and refer these students to the attendance officer. A student must have at least 5 unlawful absences before he/she should be referred to the attendance officer. The attendance officer then must do one or a combination of things.

Þ Follows district policies in scheduling conferences, sending letters, making phone calls, scheduling appointments and making home visits.

Þ Refers students and parents to agencies such as Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, etc. as needed.

Other Duties:

Þ Visits each school in the county at least twice a year and as requested by school personnel.

Þ Keeps accurate records regarding visits both to the school and the home and documentation of all referrals. Records are also kept concerning the results of visits.

Þ Speaks to groups interested in hearing how this position functions to help make the community better.

Þ Represents the three Greenwood districts at meetings of the Greenwood Family Council, Greenwood Interagency, South Carolina Attendance Association and other such agencies that work for the betterment of the children in this community.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

None

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor's Degree. Must be able to effectively deal with students, parents, and the public both in person and on the phone.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information to administrators, top management, public groups/community, and Board of Education.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.

REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to deal with problems involving a variety of concrete variables in standardized situations.

OTHER SKILLS and ABILITIES:

Ability to develop effective working relationships with students, parents, staff and the school community. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements and the Board of Education policies.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to walk and reach with hands and arms. The employee is required to drive on a daily basis. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and peripheral vision. Employee must be able to work irregular or extended hours and meet deadlines with severe time constraints.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. The employee is continuously interacting with the public, students, parents and staff. When visiting students or parents in the home, the employee is at a higher risk of being bitten by animals, being exposed to infection, or environmental allergens.

The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.