Show Up and Show Out: A Leadership Framework for Using Attendance Systems to Strengthen School Climate, Culture, and Safety

Presenters

• Rosee RaginFollow
• Tracy White Dr.Follow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

MS, M.ED

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

1994/2003

First Presenter's Field of Study

Psychology and Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Springfield College/Cambridge College

First Presenter's Institution

Paul Public Charter School

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Rosee Ragin serves as the Executive Director of Student Support Services at Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., where she oversees a comprehensive portfolio including Special Education, Attendance, Clinical Services, English Language Learners, and Culture and Climate. In this role, she leads schoolwide initiatives that strengthen student engagement, improve school safety, and build sustainable systems for academic and social-emotional success across the organization. With a professional background as a clinician, Ms. Ragin brings years of practical experience from school-based mental health, private clinical practice, and child welfare. Her expertise in trauma-informed care, crisis response, and therapeutic intervention deeply informs her leadership approach and her commitment to building supportive school environments where students feel safe, connected, and empowered. A former school leader, Ms. Ragin has extensive experience designing and implementing schoolwide systems, coaching staff, and aligning teams around practices that promote equitable outcomes for scholars. Her work reflects a strong understanding of the intersections among attendance, behavior, mental health, academic performance, and school culture. Ms. Ragin is known for her strategic, data-driven leadership and her unwavering dedication to ensuring that every scholar has access to the supports they need to thrive. She brings a wealth of knowledge in multi-tiered systems of support, organizational development, and school climate transformation, making her a powerful voice in the field of student support and school improvement.

Second Presenter's Institution

Paul PCS

Second Presenter’s Email Address

twhite@paulcharter.org

Second Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdD

Year Second Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

MSA, MSW

Second Presenter's Field of Study

Education Adminstration

Institution Where Second Presenter Received Highest Degree

George Washington University

Second Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Dr. Tracy L. White, Ed.D. Chief Executive Officer, Paul Public Charter Schools Dr. Tracy L. White is a seasoned educator, visionary leader, and advocate for equity whose career spans more than three decades of service in urban education. As Chief Executive Officer of Paul Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C., she leads with a steadfast belief that every scholar deserves the opportunity to achieve, belong, and thrive. Under her leadership, Paul PCS has strengthened its academic programs, expanded its enrollment, and advanced citywide recognition for its commitment to cultivating excellence and character in every student. Dr. White has guided the organization through the development and implementation of a long-term strategic plan, launched innovative academic and leadership programs, and championed a culture rooted in courage, humanity, achievement, modeling, and planning, known across the organization as the CHAMPs culture. Before leading Paul PCS, Dr. White held senior executive roles as Chief Academic Officer and Chief of Staff for prominent charter school networks in Washington, D.C., where she led district-wide academic improvement and leadership development efforts. Earlier in her career, she served with DC Public Schools, New Leaders, the DC Public Charter School Board, Research for Better Teaching and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, where she shaped systems to drive sustainable student success. Dr. White earned her Doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from The George Washington University, her Superintendency Certification from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, and master’s degrees from both Trinity University and Howard University. She began her career as a classroom teacher and social worker—experiences that continue to ground her leadership in compassion, integrity, and impact.

Location

Scarbrough 2

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

This proposal directly aligns with the strand focused on developing interventions for students who require more intensive supports, including students with disabilities and students considered at risk. The multi-tiered attendance framework presented in this session is designed using an MTSS structure, allowing schools to differentiate supports based on student need and risk level.

The model includes targeted Tier 2 interventions such as small-group supports, case management, counselor-led check-ins, and early-warning indicator monitoring. For students who require the highest level of intervention, including those with disabilities and those experiencing significant barriers to attendance, the plan outlines Tier 3 strategies such as individualized family engagement, wraparound support structures, coordinated service referrals, and intensive case management protocols.

These interventions are informed by comprehensive data cycles that identify students at highest risk, including those with chronic absenteeism, academic gaps, mental health needs, or significant life stressors. The model also integrates special education considerations and collaborates with clinical and wellness teams to ensure that students with disabilities receive interventions aligned with their IEP goals and social-emotional needs.

Overall, the session demonstrates how a multi-tiered, research-aligned approach can be deployed schoolwide to support students who need deeper, more personalized interventions while maintaining equity, safety, and belonging across the school community.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Learn how one school transformed post-pandemic declines in attendance into a catalyst for stronger climate, improved safety, and deeper student engagement. This session presents a field-tested, multi-tiered attendance framework that integrates prevention, data cycles, family partnership, and schoolwide culture systems. Participants will explore practical strategies for identifying early warning signs, designing tiered supports, strengthening staff collaboration, and building routines that increase belonging and daily attendance. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to implement sustainable, research-aligned systems that boost engagement and support safer, more connected schools.

Summary

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools experienced significant drops in attendance, increases in chronic absenteeism, and heightened disengagement among students. Prior to the pandemic, the featured school maintained some of the highest attendance rates in its region, consistently performing in the mid- to high-90% range. Even through virtual learning, attendance remained between 95% and 97%. Because of this historical strength, the school had never needed a formal tiered attendance system.

Post-pandemic, attendance began a steady decline. Initial interventions targeted individual students; however, outcomes made it clear that the issue required a systemic, schoolwide solution rather than case-by-case responses. The school developed a comprehensive, multi-tiered Attendance Action Plan grounded in school climate research, positive youth development, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and national attendance improvement frameworks. The plan emphasized prevention, consistent routines, stakeholder collaboration, culturally responsive family engagement, and proactive safety practices.

The model, titled Show Up and Show Out, integrates Tier 1 universal climate systems, Tier 2 targeted interventions, and Tier 3 intensive supports. It includes structures such as attendance task forces, data cycles, early warning indicators, counselor-led groups, case-management protocols, family partnership routines, and positive reinforcement systems. As a result of this tiered approach, attendance increased to 92% in middle school and nearly 90% in high school, with continued improvement in the current school year.

Implementing this attendance initiative also led to broader organizational shifts. The RTI process was restructured for consistency and early identification; family engagement systems became more predictable and responsive; school culture plans expanded to prioritize student belonging, engagement, and safety. These changes created a more supportive, stable climate that strengthened both preventive and responsive schoolwide safety practices.

This session will provide participants with a field-tested model that aligns attendance work with school climate, safety, and leadership development. Attendees will leave with actionable tools for creating sustainable, data-driven systems that improve engagement, strengthen safety, and increase student attendance.

Evidence

The approach presented in this session is grounded in field-tested implementation across an entire school community and is supported by measurable improvements in student attendance, engagement, and school climate. Prior to adopting a multi-tiered attendance framework, the school saw a steady post-pandemic decline in daily attendance and a rise in chronic absenteeism. After implementing the comprehensive Attendance Action Plan, attendance increased to 92 percent in one division and nearly 90 percent in another, with continued growth in the current year. These improvements reflect the effectiveness of a schoolwide, systemic model rather than isolated student-by-student interventions.

The model is rooted in national research and promising practices from Attendance Works, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, school climate theory, trauma-informed practice, and positive youth development. Research consistently shows that prevention-based Tier 1 structures, predictable routines, strong staff–student relationships, and culturally responsive family engagement significantly reduce chronic absenteeism and strengthen school safety. Similarly, MTSS literature emphasizes that combining universal strategies with targeted small-group supports and intensive individualized interventions leads to stronger and more equitable outcomes.

This approach also incorporates evidence-based strategies such as early-warning indicators, frequent data reviews, stakeholder teaming structures, proactive family outreach, and incentives grounded in behavioral science. The model integrates attendance with broader climate and safety work—an approach supported by national studies demonstrating that students attend more consistently when they feel connected, psychologically safe, and supported by adults who monitor and respond to their needs.

Additionally, the initiative led to verified organizational improvements, including a strengthened RTI process, more consistent family partnership systems, and enhanced culture and safety routines. These shifts align with research showing that integrated, schoolwide systems improve both student outcomes and overall school resilience.

Together, the combination of documented attendance gains, alignment to established research, and successful field implementation demonstrates the effectiveness and replicability of this model for improving school climate, safety, and student engagement.

Learning Objective 1

Design and implement a multi-tiered attendance system that integrates prevention, early warning indicators, targeted interventions, and intensive supports to strengthen school climate, safety, and daily student engagement.

Learning Objective 2

Use data-driven leadership practices to identify needs, guide decision-making, monitor progress, and align staff across roles to ensure consistent, equitable implementation of attendance, culture, and family engagement routines.

Learning Objective 3

Build sustainable schoolwide structures that enhance belonging, improve collaboration among staff and families, and create safe, supportive environments where students are motivated to attend and able to thrive.

Start Date

6-2-2026 3:45 PM

End Date

6-2-2026 4:45 PM

Recommended Citation

Ragin, Rosee and White, Tracy Dr., "Show Up and Show Out: A Leadership Framework for Using Attendance Systems to Strengthen School Climate, Culture, and Safety" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 71.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/71

Creative Commons License

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