Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The Early Truancy Prevention Project was created by scholars based at Duke University’s Center for Child and Family Policy.  It is designed to reduce truancy among primary-school students by giving teachers the necessary resources to intervene quickly when a student begins to accumulate absences and tardies.  Teachers are paid to make home visits to all of their students during September.  Thereafter they are provided alerts on which of their students are beginning to accumulate excessive absences and encouraged to make contact with the home.  (Teachers are provided with a smart phone to facilitate texting and email as well as voice communication.)  The teacher assesses the situation and, if she deems it necessary, develops an intervention.  The assessment and intervention plan are guided and also recorded in an on-line Attendance Information System.    Since 2010, the Program has been developed in several elementary schools that are part of the Durham Public School system.   With the help of an IES grant from the US Department of Education it was pilot tested in 5 schools that are part of  the Durham Public Schools.   (Each school in the pilot is assigned to treatment in either 1^st grade or 2^nd grade classrooms, with the other serving as a control.)  During 2013-2014,  the pilot in 5 schools (40 classrooms) found about a 10% reduction in the prevalence of frequent absences.  Teachers report that the home visit improved their relationship with the students and households