Trustees hear concerns about fights, discipline coding and attendance; district outlines monitoring

Trustees and district staff discussed student discipline data and attendance trends after trustees raised concerns about fights at the junior high and how incidents were being coded in the district data system.

The board heard that some incidents had been double-coded — making counts appear higher — and administrators said they are reviewing coding practices to ensure accurate reporting. Trustees urged additional supervision and redeployment of existing staff to support campuses with higher incident rates; administrators reported they had already shifted staff and were drawing help from other campuses to assist the junior high.

On attendance, administrators said overall attendance remains in the high 90s for the short school year so far but that three students from a single family are being referred to truancy court; the attendance office and juvenile court partners are working with the family to address barriers. Trustees asked administration to return with concrete measures and metrics for monitoring discipline interventions and attendance, and suggested parent engagement programs such as WATCH D.O.G.S. be explored as supplemental support.