Nearly one in six students were chronically absent in the school district this past year as school leaders look to put increased focus on the problem.
The district saw a chronic absenteeism rate of 15.8%, which is not something they want to see increase, Superintendent Stu Moeckel said during Thursday night’s School Board meeting. If broken down, that is 13.7% at the elementary school, 17% at the middle and 17.5% at the high school.
In 2024, about 19.7% of students in the state were considered chronically absent, a decline from 24.5% in 2022. The state defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of the total number of days enrolled during the school year.
Board member Claire Harding asked about the new tardy policy at the elementary school and if it would quicken conversations about chronic absenteeism since it might increase numbers of students considered to be missing school.
Moeckel said when judging tardiness of students in elementary school, it’s often the parents responsible for getting students to school on time or not. He said he does think it will increase conversation about chronic absenteeism.
“And the other thing, too, is, how are we getting in front of that with families? ‘We noticed you had a hard time getting to school, how can we help?’” he said. “You don’t change behaviors by issuing somebody a letter. You change behaviors by how you’re working with families to figure out why they’re struggling to come to school or why they’re having a hard time getting them there.”
The handbook includes a policy that says arriving after 9 a.m. for an 8 a.m. start time results in a half-day absence. Leaving before 2:30 p.m. results in a half-day absence.
Students are to check into the office when arriving at or after 8 a.m. and parents need to walk their child in.
It also says consequences for tardies are as follows:
3 unexcused tardies = Informative letter to parents sent by mail
4 unexcused tardies = Letter to parents sent by mail and a 30-minute detention
5 or more unexcused tardies = A 30-minute detention and a detention for every additional tardy until the end of the quarter
10 unexcused tardies in a semester will result in a Department of Children and Families report being filed and a meeting with parents and school office staff
Director of School Improvement Heather Hundley also discussed absent students during her report to the board.
Chronic absenteeism increased slightly from 2024, from 14.67% to 15.87%, and the district will continue to work on engaging families to help decrease those numbers. Creating a welcoming environment, along with sharing power and advocacy, are correlated to lowering chronic absenteeism, she said.
Moeckel said the district has been working with leadership and administration to get ahead of chronic absenteeism. He said there was a need to streamline the process while making it proactive and not punitive when they come back to school.
“The last thing you want to feel is that, ‘Well, I was gone and now I’ve got a punishment that follows that.’ So how do we work with families? You’re going to see a lot of work through the coming year of that. It starts with how do we streamline our communication?” he said.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
