District 191 updates board on three‑year attendance pilot; text nudges show early gains at pilot sites

Burnsville Public School District staff on June 26 briefed the board on an attendance pilot carried out during the 2024–25 school year as part of a multi‑district partnership and a legislative study group. The pilot is planned as a three‑year initiative to inform statewide recommendations to increase attendance and reduce truancy.

Amy Petrowski, director of student support services, said the district participated with 11 other districts and that the pilot’s vision is a multi‑pronged system to reduce chronic absenteeism by strengthening school‑family relationships, improving communication and supporting culturally responsive instruction. Petrowski reported that district consistent attendance rose to 62 percent in 2025 from a low point around 50 percent in 2022; she said the statewide average was 74.5 percent.

Petrowski and Red Mill Elementary school social worker Sarah Parker described pilot tactics used at three sites (elementary: Neil/Red Mill; middle: Eagle Ridge Middle School; high school: Burnsville High School). Parker said one classroom‑level pilot used low‑cost incentives (letter tiles that spelled “ALL STARS”), short daily recognition, and targeted teacher outreach: when a student missed two consecutive days, teachers reached out in a nonpunitive message saying "we missed your child." Teachers sent short, personalized text messages (“text nudges”) to families; Parker said those nudges corresponded with improvements — 70 of 99 students targeted after spring break had improved attendance by April 30, and 17 of 26 higher‑absence students improved after a mid‑May nudge.

Parker and Petrowski said the pilot’s primary outcome of interest is chronic absenteeism (students attending 89.9 percent or less). Parker reported classroom‑level improvements in chronic absenteeism and increases in the number of students with perfect attendance: pilot classrooms went from two students with perfect attendance before the pilot to 45 by April 30, and 27 by May 26.

Presenters flagged several challenges for districtwide rollout: inconsistent attendance practices between Dakota and Scott counties; legal/process differences tied to county mandates; staff capacity to implement consistent school attendance teams; and the coding of excused versus exempt absences for school‑related activities. Board members asked how illness, study halls, and school‑sponsored activities (sports, tournaments, band) are recorded. District staff said the state counts a student as absent regardless of excused/unexcused status unless coded as an exempt absence and that the district is reviewing codes and office check‑in processes to exempt school‑sponsored activities where appropriate.

Petrowski said next steps include creating an attendance handbook, standardizing elementary and secondary thresholds for unexcused and excused absences, developing consistent communications in multiple languages, establishing building attendance teams in every school and sharing targeted strategies for secondary grades where absenteeism rises. Board members requested future reports that focus on middle and high school interventions. Petrowski said every building will have an attendance team next year and administrators will continue to refine coding and communications.