Attendance Management Overview
Zion’s Attendance module provides a complete digital solution for tracking student presence, managing chronic absence alerts, generating reports, and analyzing attendance trends across your school.What is Attendance Management?
In ACE schools, daily attendance tracking is essential for student accountability and regulatory compliance. Zion transforms this process from paper-based record-keeping into a streamlined digital workflow with intelligent alerting. Traditional Attendance (Manual):- Paper roll books or spreadsheets
- Manual compilation for reports
- No chronic absence detection
- Difficult to identify patterns
- Time required: 30+ minutes daily
- Touch-optimized digital marking
- One-tap status updates (Present/Absent/Late)
- Automatic chronic absence alerts
- Trend analysis and pattern detection
- CSV/PDF export for compliance
- Time required: <5 minutes daily
How Attendance Works in Zion
Morning: Attendance Marking
Who: Supervisors or Administrators Where: Attendance → Mark Attendance Time: 3-5 minutes for 30 students- Select today’s date (defaults to current date)
- Select learning centre (optional for admins, required for supervisors)
- For each student, tap status:
- Present (green) - Student is in class
- Absent (red) - Student is not present
- Late (amber) - Student arrived after start time
- For late arrivals, optionally record arrival time
- Add notes for any student (e.g., “doctor appointment”)
- Status auto-saves immediately
- Bulk “Mark All Present” for efficiency
- Tablet-optimized with large 48x48px touch targets
- Real-time summary updates as you mark
- Students sorted: unmarked first, then alphabetically
Throughout the Day: Dashboard Monitoring
Who: Administrators and Supervisors Where: Attendance → Dashboard Dashboard Displays:- Today’s attendance summary (Present/Absent/Late counts)
- Attendance rate percentage
- Absent students list with details
- Late arrivals list with arrival times
- Centre breakdown chart (admin view)
- Week-over-week comparison
- Dashboard refreshes automatically every 30 seconds
- See live progress as attendance is marked across centres
Automated: Chronic Absence Alerts
Who: System-generated, reviewed by Administrators Where: Attendance → Alerts When: Daily at 6:00 AM (before school day) Alert Triggers:| Alert Type | Condition | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 5+ consecutive absences | Immediate parent contact |
| Critical | >20% absence rate in 30 days | Parent meeting required |
| Warning | 3+ consecutive absences | Monitor closely |
- System analyzes previous 60 days of attendance
- Counts consecutive absences (excluding weekends)
- Calculates 30-day absence rate
- Creates alerts for students meeting thresholds
- Sends email digest to administrators (if enabled)
- Alerts appear in dashboard for acknowledgment
Key Features
1. 3-Tap Marking Workflow
Quick, intuitive attendance entry:- Tap 1: Tap student row to expand
- Tap 2: Tap status button (Present/Absent/Late)
- Tap 3: Confirm or add optional notes
- Green checkmark for Present
- Red X for Absent
- Amber clock for Late
2. Bulk Operations
For large classes or school-wide events:- Mark All Present: One click marks all unmarked students as present
- Clear All: Reset all attendance for re-entry
- Date Selection: Mark attendance for previous days (before midnight cutoff)
3. Chronic Absence Detection
Proactive identification of attendance issues: Alert Generation:- Runs automatically each morning
- Analyzes rolling 60-day window
- Excludes weekends from consecutive counts
- Only creates new alerts if no unacknowledged alert exists
- View all active alerts in dedicated panel
- Filter by type (Warning/Critical)
- Filter by learning centre
- Acknowledge alerts with intervention notes
- Track parent contacts and follow-up actions
4. Attendance Reports
Report Types:- Daily: Single day attendance summary
- Weekly: 7-day overview with trends
- Monthly: Full month statistics
- Term: Complete term analysis
- Custom: User-specified date range
- Overall attendance rate
- Centre-by-centre breakdown
- Chronic absence student list
- Late arrival patterns
- Day-of-week analysis
- Optional Goal Check correlation
5. Trend Analysis
Trend Dashboard:- Line chart showing attendance over time
- Range options: 7 days, 30 days, term, custom
- Trend direction indicator (improving/stable/declining)
- Best and worst performing days identified
- Centre filtering for focused analysis
6. Export Capabilities
CSV Export:- One-click download for any date
- Includes: Student name, number, grade, status, arrival time, notes
- Summary section with totals and attendance rate
- Filename:
attendance-{date}-{centre-name}.csv
Benefits by Role
For Administrators
- School-wide visibility: See attendance across all centres in one dashboard
- Early intervention: Chronic absence alerts enable proactive parent engagement
- Compliance ready: Generate reports required for regulatory audits
- Pattern detection: Identify systemic attendance issues by centre or grade
For Supervisors
- Quick daily marking: Complete attendance in under 5 minutes
- Centre-specific alerts: See only alerts for your assigned students
- Historical tracking: Review attendance history for any student
- Export for parents: Generate attendance summaries for parent meetings
Best Practices
Daily Routine
- Morning (8:00 AM): Mark attendance within first 15 minutes of school day
- Mid-Morning (10:00 AM): Update any late arrivals with arrival times
- End of Day: Review any missed students and complete marking
Alert Management
- Review alerts daily (takes <2 minutes)
- Acknowledge alerts after taking action (document intervention)
- Contact parents within 24 hours of critical alerts
- Use notes field to track conversations and follow-ups
Accuracy Tips
- Mark attendance at consistent times each day
- Use notes for planned absences (field trips, appointments)
- Review previous day before moving to new day
- Export reports weekly for your records
Related Guides
Administrator Attendance Guide
Complete guide for administrators managing school-wide attendance
Supervisor Attendance Guide
Daily attendance workflow for supervisors and centre managers
Attendance Reports
Generating and interpreting attendance reports
Chronic Absence Alerts
Managing and responding to attendance alerts