Norfolk schools report lower chronic absenteeism but rising dropout rate; district names senior coordinator

Dr. Pohl, Norfolk Public Schools staff member, told the school board on Aug. 6 that chronic absenteeism has declined overall from school year 2022 through school year 2025 while the district’s dropout rate has increased. The report shows the division met its strategic-plan target for chronic absenteeism for SY25 — the plan target was 18.3% — but the dropout rate rose from 10.4% in SY22 to 14.8% in SY25. "For chronic absenteeism, we have, nicely seen declines from school year '22 through school year '25," Dr. Pohl said. He added, "we're not seeing the same good news" on dropouts and noted that the districts are still finalizing accountability numbers for the state. Why it matters: district leaders said lower absenteeism increases instruction time and the division will expand targeted supports to prevent dropouts and re-enroll students who left school. Board members pressed for subgroup- and school-level detail, and asked how the new staff position will be measured. Board discussion and staff response - Dropout and absentee data: Dr. Pohl emphasized that the chronic-absence target for SY25 was 18.3% and the division met that goal, but said the dropout percentage rose to 14.8% in SY25 from 10.4% in SY22. He cautioned the board that the SY22 numbers reflect pandemic-era testing and grading differences and that some effects can appear later as cohorts move through high school. - Staffing: Dr. Pohl said the division has hired a senior coordinator for on-time graduation and student engagement, "Dr. Moore is on board." He said Dr. Moore has begun visiting graduation coaches and schools with the highest chronic absenteeism and dropout rates to help with data and prevention planning. - School-level supports: The superintendent said the division will continue to expand MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) from division to school teams, provide professional development for school teams, and offer before- and after-school programming through partners at selected schools to increase engagement. He said Champions is a primary partner providing many of those offerings. - Re-enrollment and scheduling: School leaders said that during the summer high school principals worked to contact students who had dropped out to encourage reenrollment, and the district’s 4-by-4 schedule allows students who need two or three classes to graduate to complete them in fall and be eligible for winter graduation. - School examples and scale: Board member Inge listed several high-absence high schools and asked how the district deploys family engagement specialists, attendance officers and social workers. Dr. Pohl said Booker T. Washington and Joe Cox are Title I schools with family engagement specialists; he gave specific chronic-absence rates on the record: Booker T. Washington about 25.2% (about 227 of 899 students), Joe Cox about 30.8% (about 184 students), and Lake Taylor about 24.7%. - Graduation coaches: The district reported it currently has 10 graduation coaches shared across high schools and alternative campuses; the district said placement is equity driven (needs-based) rather than strictly by equal distribution. - Data requests and accountability: Board members asked for disaggregated reports by school and subgroup. Dr. Pohl said school- and division-level reports are available and staff "could run a report" by subgroup for the board if requested. He also clarified that accountability numbers are preliminary until the state finalizes them (typically in September/November) and that a student who reenrolls before finalization may be removed from the dropout count. - Alternative and GED programs: The board asked about alternatives for students who stop attending. Dr. Pohl said the division offers a GED program, an open campus alternative schedule, and online offerings, but noted that in state accountability rules a GED may not always affect dropout tallies the way a traditional diploma does; he said accountability expert Miss McGarity will present an update on state accountability at the State of the Schools presentation in November. Discussion versus action - Discussion only: Most items described above were discussions of data, programs and next steps; no binding policy changes were adopted during this session on attendance or graduation policy. - Direction/assignments: Board members asked staff to provide subgroup-disaggregated absenteeism and dropout data by school; the superintendent said staff will run that report if the board wants it. Staff also committed to continue training for MTSS and to target supports at schools with the highest rates. - Formal action: No vote on policy or budget was taken in this agenda item. Ending Board members applauded the declines in chronic absenteeism while expressing concern about the rising dropout rate and urged faster, data-driven action at specific schools. District staff committed to provide disaggregated reports, to deploy the new senior coordinator to high-need schools, and to bring an accountability update at the November State of the Schools presentation.