SD U-46 reports lower chronic absenteeism, outlines restorative and crisis-response strategies

The School District U-46 Board of Education on March 24 heard an update from the district’s Culture and Climate team describing declines in chronic absenteeism and bullying reports and outlining expanded training and supports for schools.

Mark Canella, Coordinator for Culture and Climate, told the board the department has increased staff and training and has been focusing on universal and targeted supports, crisis response and restorative practices. “Our team has grown over the years. Currently, we have seven total certs, which is one per network,” Canella said, describing the district’s move to add CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) and restorative-practices trainers.

Canella said the district’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped from about 46.5 percent last year to 34.9 percent this year and that overall district attendance rose back to 89.9 percent as of March 20. He also reported fewer bullying investigations routed to the Culture and Climate office—66 this year versus 90 last year—and said the office provides resources to victims and works with schools on investigations. He described CPI 101 training for verbal de-escalation and a CPI autism module planned for next year for staff working with students with autism.

The presentation included discipline and disproportionality metrics: Canella said Black or African American students make up 6.5 percent of district enrollment but account for 14.6 percent of behavior referrals, and that Hispanic/Latino students make up 58.6 percent of enrollment and 60.5 percent of referrals. He said 50.1 percent of Black students had received at least one behavior referral this year. The district also reported a decline in out-of-school suspensions as a share of behavior resolutions and said restorative practices and alternative interventions are being used as methods to reduce recidivism.

Board members pressed for next steps and further detail. Board member Samreen Khan said she appreciated the progress but asked what other interventions the district uses to “dig deeper into root causes” of behavior. Canella said the district pursues family meetings, observations by certs and targeted supports when referrals cluster for particular students. Board member Sue Kerr asked how “unfounded” bullying reports were classified; Canella said many are downgraded when evidence is lacking or the report was submitted in error.

Several board members voiced concern about disproportionality. One member said the chart showing Black students receiving a disproportionate share of referrals was “very concerning” and urged the district to prioritize consistent enforcement of the code of conduct and implicit-bias training. Canella said the district is expanding restorative-practices trainers—up from two trainers at the start of the year to 13 trainers districtwide—and is working with assistant principals and Student Success Advocates (SSAs) to provide mentoring and supports. He reported there are 54 SSAs districtwide (25 high school, 23 middle school, 6 elementary) funded via Title allocations.

Canella also briefed the board on the district’s Threat Assessment Team (TAT) and the Bloom Academy alternative-placement program used for students requiring intensive intervention, noting weekly coordination between TAT, Bloom and home-school representatives and the first-year use of an “alternative pathway to Bloom” packet to document interventions already tried.

The board did not take a vote on the presentation; the item was for information and discussion. Members asked staff to return with further breakdowns of referral counts, updated printing of missing figures, and clarifications on how CPI and restorative-practice training will reach staff in transportation, plant operations and safety teams.

District staff said the student code of conduct and a staff guide to the code will be updated this spring and posted on the U-46 website following board review.