YMHC School Attendance Challenges Resources
Tier 1–3 Supports for Universal, Targeted, and Intensive Intervention
A complete collection of evidence-informed workbooks, guides, tools, and courses designed to support students across all levels of need, from universal classroom wellness to targeted intervention and intensive re-engagement support.
These resources help schools understand and respond to school attendance challenges through connection, belonging, early identification, and structured tiered support systems.
SAC Tier 1 Resources
Universal mental wellness, coping, reflection, and self-awareness resources designed for all students.
Beneath the Surface: A Creative Journal Workbook (2nd ed.)
Get this workbook: Beneath the Surface: A Creative Journal Workbook (2nd ed.)A creative, skills-based journal workbook that builds self-awareness and coping by exploring “what’s beneath the surface,” using tools like the iceberg concept and structured reflection.
Sources of Strength: A Creative Wellness Workbook (2nd ed.)
Get this workbook: Sources of Strength: A Creative Wellness Workbook (2nd ed.)A strengths- and resilience-building workbook that teaches coping, problem-solving, and stress management through hands-on activities.
Sources of Support: A Workbook for Building Mental Wellness Protective Factors (2nd ed.)
Get this workbook: Sources of Support: A Workbook for Building Mental Wellness Protective Factors (2nd ed.)A protective-factors workbook that helps students map school/community supports, plan for safety, and build help-seeking and self-awareness skills.
Mental Wellness Workbook (2nd ed.)
Get this workbook: Mental Wellness Workbook (2nd ed.)3-in-1 – Beneath the Surface + Sources of Strength + Sources of Support
A bundled, universal mental wellness workbook that combines all three Tier 1 workbooks into one integrated resource.
Creating a Personal Mental Wellness Action Plan Workbook
Get this workbook: Creating a Personal Mental Wellness Action Plan WorkbookA structured planning tool that guides students to identify warning signs, coping strategies, supports, and action steps for “struggling days.”
Stressed? Strategies to Cope with Stress (Booklet)
Get this booklet: Stressed? Strategies to Cope with Stress (Booklet)A practical workbook that helps students recognize signs of stress and build personalized coping strategies to reduce overwhelm and improve daily functioning.
Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS)
Get this booklet: Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS)A guided workbook that teaches students to identify unhelpful thought patterns and practice reframing strategies to support mood, confidence, and resilience.
Creating your Education Support Team
Get this booklet: Creating your Education Support TeamA structured workbook that helps students and caregivers identify school barriers, clarify support needs, and plan effective accommodations with an education support team.
The Feelings Wheel
Get this booklet: The Feelings WheelAn emotional literacy workbook that helps students name and understand their feelings more precisely, strengthening communication and self-regulation.
SAC Tier 2–3 Resources
Targeted support for students needing additional intervention, re-engagement, and barrier removal.
School Attendance Challenges: A Handbook for Supporting Students with Barriers to Education and Learning
Get this handbook: School Attendance Challenges: A Handbook for Supporting Students with Barriers to Education and LearningA handbook that organizes Tier 1–3 strategies for preventing, identifying, and responding to SAC through barrier removal, accommodations, and collaborative planning.
My Experience of School: Upstream Chronic School Absenteeism Prevention
Get this workbook: My Experience of School: Upstream Chronic School Absenteeism PreventionA student-facing workbook that validates lived experience and helps students identify barriers, triggers, supports, and realistic steps for re-engagement and attendance.
Supporting Students with School Attendance Challenges: A Guidebook for Families and Schools
Get this guidebook: Supporting Students with School Attendance Challenges: A Guidebook for Families and SchoolsA practical guidebook for school-family collaboration and tiered supports to reduce barriers and re-engage students experiencing school refusal / avoidance.
SAC Online Certificate Courses
Youth Wellness Action Plan (YWAP)
Course details: Youth Wellness Action Plan (YWAP)A self-paced course that builds mental health literacy and practical wellness planning using the ASAP framework (Awareness, Support, Action, Prevention), including coping skills, support mapping, and personalized wellness action planning.
School-Wide Strategies to Support Students with School Attendance Challenges
Course details: School-Wide Strategies to Support Students with School Attendance ChallengesTraining on MTSS/tiered attendance supports — understanding causes, recognizing early warning signs, implementing school-wide strategies, strengthening family collaboration, and building inclusive environments to re-engage students.
Built for Everyone Who Works With Students
- Classroom Teachers
Recognize the warning signs early, reduce shame around absences, and build the daily routines and relationships that keep students connected to school.
- School Counselors & Social Workers
Access tiered assessment tools and checklists, action planning frameworks, practical tools and resources, and evidence-based strategies to guide students from distress back to engagement.
- Administrators & School Leaders
Build a whole-school MTSS Whole School Approach to attendance that replaces reactive crisis management with proactive, data-informed culture change.
- Educational Assistants & Support Staff
Understand the invisible backpack students carry and learn how your daily interactions and accommodations can make a profound difference.
- Mental Health Professionals
Bridge school and clinical support with a shared language, intersectional lens, and coordinated assessment, planning, and resource tools that centre student voice and family partnership.
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