Level 1 — Early Concern

First Faces Professional Learning Kit

Connection Before Correction. A 58-minute facilitator guide to build a shared adult response to student arrival, return from absence, and early attendance concerns — welcome and reconnect, notice barriers without assumptions, use curiosity-based language, and move concerns through the site’s support pathway.

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Session details

School / siteDateFacilitator(s)

Agenda

1. Why First Faces? (5 min) — Connect attendance, belonging, and adult response.
2. See It Through Their Eyes (8 min) — Examine the return-to-school experience from the student’s perspective.
3. Welcome + Connect (10 min) — Practice the first 30 seconds of re-entry.
4. Discover the Why (12 min) — Shift from assumptions to curiosity and barrier identification.
5. Respond + Connect (10 min) — Know when and how to hand off a concern.
6. Campus Reflection (8 min) — Identify one strength, one gap, and one action.
7. Commitment + Close (5 min) — Commit to one First Faces practice.

Facilitator prep

Bring

First Faces Look-For ChartWelcome-Back Micro-ProtocolReferral & Connection PathwayStaff Reflection & Readiness ToolStudent/Family Pulse Survey samplesChart paper or shared digital space

Before the session

Identified the site’s current support/referral pathwayIdentified staff/teams who receive attendance concernsReviewed baseline student/family feedback or attendance patterns

Core message: First Faces is not a script and it is not another attendance consequence. It is a consistent adult response that makes it more likely we will notice a student, understand what may be getting in the way, and connect that student or family to help early.

1. Why First Faces? — 5 minutes

Ask: “Think about the first adult interaction a student experiences when arriving late or returning after an absence. What might that interaction communicate?” Key point: arrival and re-entry are small moments with outsized impact. Connection before correction — not the absence of expectations. Introduce WELCOME → CONNECT → DISCOVER → RESPOND.

Staff responses / notes

2. See It Through Their Eyes — 8 minutes

Prompt: “Imagine you are a student returning after four days away. You are behind academically, unsure what classmates know, and worried an adult will ask where you have been in front of everyone.” Pairs discuss: What could make re-entry harder? Easier? Debrief into two columns. First Faces reduces unnecessary re-entry friction while maintaining attendance expectations.

FrictionConnection

3. Welcome + Connect — 10 minutes

Teach the first 30 seconds

WELCOME: “Good to see you.” / “I’m glad you’re here.”
RECONNECT: “Let’s get you caught up.”
NOTICE (when appropriate and private): “I noticed you’ve been gone a few days.”
OPEN THE DOOR: “Is everything okay, or is there anything we may be able to help with?”

Practice: partners role-play one returning-student interaction, then switch. Ask: What language felt welcoming? What sounded investigative or shaming?

Language that felt welcoming vs. investigative/shaming

4. Discover the Why — 12 minutes

Signature activity: display only “HE’S LATE AGAIN.” Ask: “What do we actually know?” Then reveal one fact at a time.

Parent begins work at 5:00 a.m.
Student gets a younger sibling ready.
The family car is not running.
Student walks the sibling to elementary school first.
Then the student walks to school.

Ask: Did the attendance behavior change? Did our understanding change? Clarify: understanding a barrier does not erase expectations; it helps us choose a response that has a chance of improving attendance.

Staff reflections

5. Respond + Connect — 10 minutes

Teach NOTICE → LISTEN → CONNECT. The first adult is not expected to become the case manager. Practice the warm handoff: “Thank you for telling me. I’m going to connect you with someone who may be able to help.” Anchor: a referral is complete when someone owns the next step and the loop is closed.

Using the Referral & Connection Pathway — where would we route?

Barrier	Who owns the connection at our site

Rows: transportation · basic needs · school avoidance/belonging · academic struggle · family responsibilities · persistent/chronic pattern.

6. Our Campus — 8 minutes

Use the First Faces Look-For Chart in small groups.

One First Faces practice we already do well (strength to protect)Where inconsistency exists in arrival/re-entry (opportunity to address)Support-pathway questions staff still haveOne action we will take

7. Commitment + Close — 5 minutes

Staff complete the commitment section of the Staff Reflection & Readiness Tool: START · STRENGTHEN · LEAVE BEHIND · SUPPORT I NEED. Close with: “Every return is another chance to reconnect a student to school.”

First Faces practice lab

Scenarios for table discussion, role-play, or a quick staff protocol check.

A — The repeat tardy: A student enters 20 minutes late for the third time this week. First 10-second response? What happens privately rather than publicly? What makes this a First Faces response?B — The quiet disclosure: “Things are kind of hard at home.” What do you say next? What do you not need to ask? How do you hand off without making the student retell everything?C — Transportation: “I keep missing first period because I don’t always have a ride.” What barrier do we know? Who owns the connection? What evidence tells us the support worked?D — Pattern continues after welcome, contact, and support. What is reviewed before escalating? Fresh Start or targeted Success Meeting/SART concern? What is documented and followed up?

Implementation & follow-up

The PD is the beginning. The evidence loop tells us whether First Faces is becoming practice.

Before PD — Staff Reflection & Readiness Tool → baseline confidence, questions, support needs
Immediately after PD — Staff commitment + clarify referral pathway → start/strengthen/leave-behind commitments
Weeks 1-2 — 10-Minute First Faces Walkthrough → I Saw / I Heard / I Wonder; strength + opportunity
Weeks 2-4 — Student & Family Pulse Surveys → experience of welcome, connection, understanding, support
30 days — Leadership review → What changed? What barrier in our system remains?
6-8 weeks — Repeat readiness/walkthrough evidence → consistency and implementation growth

30-day leadership review dateRepeat evidence date

Facilitator debrief

What did staff understand quickly?Where was there confusion or resistance?What process needs clarification?What will leadership communicate or change next?

First Faces resource set: Look-For Chart · 10-Minute Walkthrough · Welcome-Back Micro-Protocol · Student & Family Pulse Surveys · Referral & Connection Pathway · Staff Reflection & Readiness Tool