JOLIET, Ill. ' Joliet Township High School District 204 officials on Monday reported that chronic absenteeism measured on the state report card did not show the internal gains the district expected and described a slate of targeted interventions for the new school year.

District staff defined chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent or more of school days and said the Illinois report-card figure for Joliet Central High School remained at 57.3 percent year over year; Joliet West showed a very slight increase, the presenters said. Internal, school-level data had shown reductions at serving-school populations, but the state report card uses "home school" data that can include students who are not served daily at a given campus, the presenters explained.

To address students near the chronic-absence threshold, principals will pilot a Check-and-Connect caseload at Central: about a dozen administrators will each take 12'15 students who miss roughly 10'12 percent of days and make regular family and student contacts to coordinate supports and resources. Presenters estimated that approach will reach roughly 150 students districtwide in the pilot.

Joliet West will pilot targeted "tardy sweeps" around lunchtime and the advisory period: students late to class will be routed to an auditorium for brief, scripted conversations with security, deans and administrators and then escorted back to class. District staff said they will track repeated tardies with a tiered response and notify parents about the effect repeated lateness has on attendance.

The district also said it will implement a student support table at both campuses and expand communications to families about attendance. An "A LOT" program implemented through the Regional Office of Education will provide student advocates who will carry caseloads of about 32 students each and work one-on-one with families to connect them to school resources.

Presenters said the patterns underlying chronic absenteeism vary: some students miss large portions of the year for health or other reasons while other students hover just beyond the 10 percent threshold. The district said the differentiated approach is intended to match supports to the level of need.

Board members asked about medical absences and coding differences between campuses; officials said some discrepancies in withdrawal and dropout codes remain under review with registrars and the regional office of education. No formal board action was required; the item was presented for information and direction.