Craven County Schools reports large drop in chronic absenteeism after districtwide push
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Summary
Craven County Schools officials reported a roughly 42% decrease in chronically absent students for the 2024–25 school year and described next steps on truancy, discipline categories and school-level strategies.
Craven County Schools officials told the board an end‑of‑year review showed a substantial drop in chronic absenteeism across the district after focused attendance work at schools.
Dr. Boutwell, speaking for the district accountability team, told the board that districtwide chronic absenteeism fell from 3,226 students to about 1,860 — a decline of roughly 42 percent — in one school year. "Students with 9 or fewer absences historically outperform their peers," Dr. Boutwell said, and staff emphasized that reductions in absences were a primary reason the district expects academic gains when state results are published.
The nut graf: The presentation, given at the board’s request, separated chronic absenteeism (missing more than 10% of instructional days, including excused absences) from truancy (unexcused absences where a student could have attended). Officials said the decrease represents intentional, school‑level strategies and multi‑disciplinary family support teams but that the problem is not solved.
Officials detailed grade‑span trends and where gains were largest. At the elementary level the district reported elementary chronic absenteeism fell nearly 40% (from about 1,069 to 642 students), with the highest rates historically in kindergarten and early grades. Middle schools saw the largest relative drop — about 48% — including several schools that cut their chronically absent counts by half or more. High schools recorded roughly a 40% drop; ninth grade remains the grade with the highest chronic absenteeism among high schoolers. Officials noted that high school chronic absenteeism calculations differ because attendance is taken by period.
Nurse Forsyth presented truancy numbers and context: of roughly 1,860 chronically absent students, 135 open truancy cases were active districtwide at the time of the presentation. That means about 25% of chronically absent students were enrolled in an open truancy process; overall truant students represented about 4.2% of enrollment. Middle schools had the highest share of chronically absent students also involved in truancy proceedings.
The board and staff discussed common drivers and school responses. Staff said kindergarten through second grade contributed a large share of elementary chronic absenteeism and recommended continuing early‑grade outreach. Schools reported practical interventions — attendance incentives, family outreach, courts and community partnerships — and principals described school‑level attendance boards and prize programs to encourage regular attendance.
On discipline, the district presented incident‑category data from February through May. Aggressive behavior, disruptive behavior and inappropriate conduct were the top categories across grade spans; bus misbehavior and disrespect toward staff were also highlighted. Staff said those categories are relatively stable month to month and will inform district behavioral goals for 2025–26.
Ending: The presentation was informational; the board did not take action. Officials said they will continue the district’s attendance work, bring further updates as the school year cycle starts, and expect to compare next fall’s academic results with the attendance gains presented.
