Explore why attendance matters, the human rights and legislative frameworks that protect students' access to education, trauma awareness, ableism in education, disability rights, intersectionality, and the lived experiences of Black and Indigenous students.

• Land Acknowledgement and Commitment
• Unit 1 Introduction
• Course Handbook
• Unit 1 Glossary Terms
• 1.1 Your Education Matters
• 1.2 Why Attendance Matters
• 1.3 Human Rights in Education: Policies and Legislation
• Human Rights in Education (Wade Poziomka)
• 1.4 Trauma Awareness in Education
• 1.5 Trauma-Informed Strategies
• 1.6 Ableism in the Education System
• 1.7 International School Attendance Campaigns
• 1.8 Disability Awareness
• What is Mad Studies?
• 1.9 Disability in Education
• 1.10 Discrimination
• 1.11 Intersectionality
• 1.12 Educational and Mental Health Challenges
• 1.13 Experiences of Black Students & School Attendance Challenges
• 1.14 Indigenous Experiences of School Attendance Challenges
• Unit 1 Quiz

Hear directly from students, parents, and caregivers. Examine how punitive language, parent blame, and deficit-based approaches cause harm — and what compassionate alternatives look like.

• Unit 2 Introduction
• Unit 2 Glossary Terms
• 2.1 Student Experiences with School Attendance Challenges
• How Student-Lived Experience Advocacy Makes a Difference (Student Panel)
• 2.2 Parent Experiences and Challenges
• 2.3 Parent Blame
• 2.4 Language Use and Punitive Approaches
• Unit 2 Quiz

Introduce the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework for attendance and well-being. Learn to identify suicide risk factors, protective factors, and screening strategies, with contributions from leading researchers and experts, including Dr. John Ackerman and Jonathan Singer.

• Unit 3 Introduction
• Unit 3 Glossary Terms
• 3.1 Student Well-Being Matters
• Collaborative Approaches to Improve Student Engagement, Attendance, Achievement, and Educational Opportunities (Josh Childs)
• Bringing Support TO the Students (Five Moore Minutes)
• 3.2 Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
• Riding the Wave: The Multi-Dimensional Multi-Tiered System of Supports Framework for Attendance (Dr. Patricia Graczyk)
• 3.3 Student Suicide Prevention
• Universal Depression and Suicide Prevention Support for All Students: Screening in Schools with Triaged Response (Dr. John Ackerman)
• 3.4 Suicide Prevention Research and Strategies for Educators
• School-Wide Strategies to Support Student Well-Being and Reduce Suicide Risk (Jonathan Singer)
• 3.5 Protective & Risk Factors
• Unit 3 Quiz

Learn a shared language for attendance challenges, explore push-pull factors, barriers to education, red flags, mental health masking, thought awareness, transitions, and both national and international attendance research.

• Unit 4 Introduction
• Unit 4 Glossary Terms
• 4.1 Understanding School Attendance Challenges
• I Wish You Were Here: Structural, Clinical and Relational Approaches to Presence in the Classroom
• The Children Refusing to Go to School (Four Corners, Australia)
• 4.2 Describing School Attendance Challenges
• 4.3 Getting to Why & How
• When School Feels Impossible (Pooky Knightsmith)
• 4.4 Possible Barriers to Education
• 4.5 Red Flags & Warning Signs
• 4.6 Mental Health Masking
• 4.7 Thought Awareness
• 4.8 Transitions in Education
• 4.9 National Attendance Issues
• 4.10 International Attendance Issues
• 4.11 Language for School Absence
• How Can Therapists Help Children with School Refusal? Mona Delahooke, PhD
• 4.12 Push/Pull Factors
• Unit 4 Quiz

Go beneath the surface of behavior to understand emotional dysregulation, stress responses, mental health agility, and the critical question of when forcing attendance causes harm rather than help.

• Unit 5 Introduction
• Unit 5 Glossary Terms
• 5.1 Understanding the Brain
• Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?
• 5.2 Beneath the Surface of Behavior
• 5.3 Mental Health Agility
• 5.4 School Stress Responses: Spotting the Signs
• 5.5 Emotional Dysregulation at School
• 5.6 Safety in Schools
• 5.7 Forcing Students to Attend School
• Unit 5 Quiz

Build a culture of belonging through school climate, peer support, community networks, educator roles, educational accommodations for school presence, and the Education Support Team model.

• Unit 6 Introduction
• Unit 6 Glossary Terms
• 6.1 Tier 1–3 Student Support
• People are NOT Supports! Understanding the Difference Between Supports, Strategies, and Resources (Shelley Moore)
• 6.2 School Climate
• 6.3 You Belong Here
• 6.4 Education Support Team
• 6.5 The Role of Educators
• The Role of Educators (Rita Pierson TED Talk)
• 6.6 Educational Accommodations for School Presence
• 6.7 Peer Support
• Different Types of Peer Support (Dr. Rina Bajaj)
• 6.8 Community Support Network
• 6.9 Family Support
• Louise Engels, Louise Rogers - Facilitating Collaborative Relationships with Parents and Caregivers: Education Support Teams
• Michaela, Natalie, Sara - Facilitating Collaborative Relationships with Parents and Caregivers: Education Support Teams
• Emotionally-Based School Avoidance: A Parent's Experience
• Unit 6 Quiz

Explore the four protective factors for resilience, student motivators, adversity and overwhelm, skill-building, trigger and stress awareness, and practical strategies for managing school anxiety.

• Unit 7 Introduction
• Unit 7 Glossary Terms
• 7.1 Protective Factors for Resilience
• 7.2 Student Motivations and Motivators
• 7.3 Adversity & Overwhelm
• Dealing with Difficult Moments (The Hospital for Sick Children)
• Being with All of Your Experiences (The Hospital for Sick Children)
• 7.4 Coping Skills
• Stop for Mindfulness (The Hospital for Sick Children)
• Feel Your Feelings (The Hospital for Sick Children)
• 7.5 Resiliency
• 7.6 Sources of Strength
• Implementing the Circle of Courage: A Model of Resilience
• 7.7 Trigger & Stress Awareness
• You Are Not Your Thoughts (The Hospital for Sick Children)
• 7.8 Managing School Anxiety
• Unit 7 Quiz

Develop Education Support Teams, conduct meaningful assessments, build School Action Plans, apply educational accommodations for absence and presence, use the Tiny Steps Approach for gradual re-entry, analyze attendance data, and advocate for students within systems.

• Unit 8 Introduction
• Unit 8 Glossary Terms
• 8.1 School-Wide Strategies for Supporting Students
• Dr. Christopher Kearney on School Refusal — What It Is, Why It Happens, and How to Handle It
• 8.2 Early Intervention: Tier 2 Awareness and Support
• 8.3 Assessment
• 8.4 School Action Plans
• 8.5 Educational Accommodations for School Absence
• 8.6 Educational Support Strategies
• 8.7 Tiny Steps Approach
• 8.8 Attendance Data
• Critical Data for Attendance Improvement 2025 (Dr. Kim Wallace)
• Critical Data for Attendance Improvement (Dr. Kim Wallace)
• 8.9 Advocacy-Focused Strategies for Professionals
• Unit 8 Quiz

Examine what's working globally — from the Netherlands and France to Chile, Australia, Sweden, and Canada — and explore how systemic advocacy, lived experience, and community co-design drive lasting change.

• Unit 9 Introduction
• Unit 9 Glossary Terms
• 9.1 Social Change Across the Globe
• 9.2 Systemic Change in Education
• 9.3 International Educational Accommodations
• Exciting School, Community, and International Initiatives: Chile, Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Sweden
• Indigenous Responses to School Attendance Challenges (Carolyn Gentle-Genitty et al.)
• Unit 9 Quiz
• Certificate of Completion

Consolidate your learning and identify one barrier you can remove, one relationship you can strengthen, and one practice you will start, stop, or continue.