Attendance initiative aims to reduce chronic absenteeism; district highlights high rates in high schools

Memphis-Shelby County Schools staff presented the district’s attendance and truancy scorecard to the Community Outreach and Engagement Committee on Oct. 21, describing a new ‘‘Show Up for Greatness’’ campaign, initial first-quarter data, targeted outreach in ZIP codes and a plan to centralize truancy operations.

The district’s goals for the 2025–26 school year — as presented by Stacy Davis, director of enrollment and attendance — include a 2 percentage-point increase in overall attendance, a 5 percentage-point reduction in chronic absenteeism, a 5 percentage-point increase in parent participation at attendance meetings (from a baseline of 88.8% toward a 94% goal) and a 2 percentage-point reduction in truancy. Staff said the data cited were pulled on Oct. 3 and are “lag” figures that will update.

What the data show Staff highlighted that absenteeism and truancy are concentrated in high school grades: grades 9–12 show the highest absentee and truancy rates, with grade 10 reported as having the highest absentee rate at 9.2% (first-quarter data presented). Kindergarten also showed elevated numbers relative to other elementary grades (attendance rate around 6.4% absence in the period cited). Staff said internal estimates of high risk for chronic absenteeism for the 2024–25 year were part of their analysis but final state data for 2024–25 remained embargoed.

Targeted outreach and early results The Show Up for Greatness initiative uses a tiered approach (gold/silver/bronze) to reward regular attendance and increases support for tier‑2 and tier‑3 students through attendance liaisons, family liaisons and RTIB specialists. Staff described door‑hangers and phone outreach in targeted ZIP codes — including 38127, 38109 and 38114 — to re-enroll students not registered for the new school year. Staff reported that door-knock outreach and follow-up calls led to re-enrollment activity; by Oct. 3, staff said 1,042 students reached during outreach had registered for school. Staff noted that additional ZIP-code data (38111) were still being finalized.

New staffing and supports The district said it hired Kelly Henderson as a new truancy manager and plans to realign truancy roles under a centralized structure to increase accountability and data-driven interventions. Staff also described plans to expand student- and school-recognition programs, relaunch the Show Up for Greatness branding in all schools (including CSI schools), and use PowerSchool and Power BI dashboards to track interventions and highlight ‘‘bright spot’’ schools.

Other operational and community notes - Staff reported systemwide enrollment (as of the day cited): 107,320 students districtwide including charter schools; 87,075 students in non-charter schools. - Attendance liaisons now support multiple schools across regions rather than being assigned to a single campus. Staff said improved teacher attendance-taking and accurate daily coding in PowerSchool are critical to producing reliable data for state reporting. - Staff emphasized partnership work with community agencies and local organizations (including the Memphis Grizzlies’ classroom recognition events) to increase visibility and celebrate schools and staff.

Board concerns and follow-up requests Board members asked whether recent National Guard activity in Memphis had affected attendance for English learners; staff said they had not observed a clear correlation in the district data but agreed to re-examine post-Oct. 10 figures. Members also asked for breakdowns of repeat truants, details on which interventions work with parents, and whether the district can provide transportation or other supports for families concerned about safety on walking routes. Staff committed to follow-ups and to providing requested metrics in subsequent reports.

Ending: Staff framed the attendance work as a data-driven, tiered approach with a mix of recognition and targeted supports and said they will provide updated quarterly data and more granular follow-up to board members who requested it.

Speakers [{"name":"Stacy Davis","role_title":"Director of Enrollment and Attendance","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Roderick Richmond","role_title":"Interim Superintendent","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Bill White","role_title":"Research","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Kelly Henderson","role_title":"Truancy Manager (new hire)","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Michael Bates","role_title":"Director of Discipline","affiliation_type":"government"}]

Authorities [{"type":"policy","name":"Attendance framework (district internal policy)","referenced_by":["attendance-presentation"]}]

Actions [{"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Realign truancy roles under a centralized structure and hire a truancy manager","mover":"staff","second":"not applicable","vote_record":[],"tally":{},"outcome":"direction","notes":"Staff indicated the new truancy manager Kelly Henderson will lead the realignment and operations; further implementation details to be provided."}]

Clarifying details [{"category":"district_goals","detail":"By end of 2025–26: increase overall attendance by 2%; reduce chronic absenteeism by 5%; increase parent participation at attendance meetings by 5% (baseline 88.8% to goal 94%); reduce truancy by 2%","source_speaker":"Stacy Davis"},{"category":"data_pull_date","detail":"Attendance and enrollment data presented were pulled on Oct. 3 and are described as lag data","source_speaker":"Stacy Davis"},{"category":"enrollment","detail":"Districtwide enrollment reported as 107,320 including charters; non-charter 87,075 (as of day cited)","source_speaker":"Stacy Davis"},{"category":"target_zip_codes","detail":"Door-knock and outreach targeted ZIP codes 38127, 38109, 38114 (38111 data pending)","source_speaker":"Stacy Davis"},{"category":"outreach_result","detail":"Staff reported 1,042 students had registered following outreach as of Oct. 3; additional counts still being finalized","source_speaker":"Stacy Davis"}]

Proper_names [{"name":"Show Up for Greatness","type":"program"},{"name":"PowerSchool","type":"program"},{"name":"Power BI","type":"program"},{"name":"Memphis Grizzlies","type":"organization"},{"name":"Lucy E. Campbell","type":"school"}]

Community_relevance {"geographies":["ZIP 38127","ZIP 38109","ZIP 38114","ZIP 38111 (pending)"],"funding_sources":[],"impact_groups":["students in grades 9–12","kindergarten students","families in targeted ZIP codes","students with chronic absenteeism"]}

Meeting_context {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":6,"duration_minutes":80,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2025-10-21","note":"First-quarter data presented; new truancy manager hired; outreach underway."}]}

Searchable_tags ["attendance","truancy","chronic-absenteeism","Show-Up-for-Greatness","enrollment"]

Provenance {"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"t2933.865","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"Good afternoon, superintendent Richmond, board chair McKinney, board members. Today I am Stacy Davis... presenting on attendance and truancy.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"t3617.06","local_start":0,"local_end":160,"evidence_excerpt":"As a result of those phone calls...By the end of the first reporting period, 1,042 students had registered.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Salience {"overall":0.78,"overall_justification":"High local impact: attendance affects funding, student outcomes and school-level operations; presentation included targets, staffing changes and outreach results.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Applies to all district schools and community ZIP codes targeted by outreach.","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Directly affects families, school operations and funding; actionable follow-ups requested by board."}