District 207 adopts multi-tier attendance plan emphasizing 95% goal and new participation rules

District 207 school officials on Tuesday rolled out a districtwide attendance initiative, “Every Day Counts,” that sets a 95% attendance expectation, creates new makeup-work timelines and applies daily participation standards for extracurriculars. The board heard a detailed presentation on the multi-tiered plan from Kylene Koya, the district’s new director of student services, and Superintendent Mary Kalu, who said the plan aims to reduce chronic absenteeism and strengthen student connectedness. The plan matters because District 207’s chronic absenteeism has increased since 2018 and the district projects the 2025 rate will be higher than its 2024 rate, which was about 33 percent, officials said. The district tied attendance declines to both pandemic-era disruptions and ongoing patterns of unexcused absences and tardies. District leaders described the plan as a multi-tiered system of supports. At tier 1 (universal supports) the district will: set a 95% attendance expectation (defined as missing no more than two…