Attendance Intervention Referral (AIR) Program

Goals of Attendance Intervention:

The goals of the Attendance Intervention Referrals (AIR) program are to promote improved school attendance, graduation from high school, and to provide additional support to students struggling in these areas.  The AIR Liaison works to build positive relationships with these students by determining the barriers to attendance, providing knowledge and understanding of the attendance laws and consequences, and by equipping them with the necessary resources to be successful.  

Attendance Intervention Referral Process:

The Attendance Intervention Referral program receives referrals from all 12 public schools in Tippecanoe County.  This includes Lafayette School Corporation, Tippecanoe School Corporation and West Lafayette School Corporation.

Prior to being referred to the AIR program, students must first receive attendance letters from their school, attend conferences with the administration at their school, and must complete Juvenile Justice Jeopardy.  Once a referral has been made, the AIR Liaison will make initial contact with the student’s guardian requesting consent for participation.  

Once this contact has been made, or consent has been assumed, an initial meeting at the student’s school will be scheduled.  At the initial meeting, the AIR Liaison introduces both themselves and the program, informs the student of the expectations, provides the Liaison’s contact information, and schedules the Intake Session.  

During the Intake Session, topics are discussed covering the student’s home life, root causes for missing school, the student’s outlook on school, potential supports for the student, any barriers that exist to prevent the student’s success, the 5 Domains of Development, and a Student Success Plan.  

After successful completion of the Intake Session, weekly meetings take place to monitor attendance, set goals, and to complete the activities based on the information discussed in the Intake Session.  All meetings take place weekly at the student’s school, during school hours.  Once the goal of consistent improvement has been met, the student’s referral can be successfully closed.  However, if the student’s attendance continues to suffer, or worsens, the referral will be closed unsuccessfully and the student is removed from the AIR program.   At this time, the school re-evaluates the student’s case and can take additional action as they see fit.  

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Attendance Intervention Referral (AIR) program is to work collectively with Tippecanoe County juveniles who have been identified as having school attendance/truancy problems, their families, schools and the community to provide mediation that fosters positive change and compliance with attendance laws.

Letter from the Judge:

As part of the truancy process in Tippecanoe County, all schools have the ability to send a letter to the parent/guardian/caretaker on behalf of the Honorable Judge Graham.  In this letter possible consequences are listed should the student continue to be truant from school. All questions regarding this letter should be directed to the appropriate school attendance office.