District 99 leadership proposes single-year focus on student attendance, paired with stricter accountability and supports

Superintendent Hank Thiele asked Community High School District 99 staff and the board to prioritize improving student attendance as the district’s single, top focus for the coming school year, saying the district will pair “increased accountability and consistency and consequences” with interventions and supports.

Thiele said the recommendation grows from a package of survey results — a new Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI), a district spring survey and a morale study with EAB — and from leadership-team feedback that placed regular attendance at the top of district priorities. “The goal is now that we have a strategic plan, now that we have these measures, that we go out to our staff, our students, our families, and try to triangulate what it is that we should really focus and work on,” Thiele told the board.

District staff described several linked findings: the climate instrument flagged questions about rules and norms, teacher–student relationships and social-emotional safety; the staff morale work showed ownership and input as an area for improvement; and the district’s internal surveys and school-level data showed a drop in student engagement and mixed sense of belonging among some students. Chief Communications Officer Jill Browning told the board the CSCI results were “generally positive,” but that staff responses about rules/norms and teacher–family relationships showed more neutral or negative responses that will require follow-up.

Ryan Doherty, director of student experiences, highlighted participation and engagement findings that feed into the attendance work. The district’s participation surveys and follow-up access interviews helped staff identify students who were on-campus but unrostered or otherwise disengaged; Doherty said those tools, along with planned registration and communication changes, will help the district track and support attendance and involvement.

Thiele described the proposed statement of work in plain language: the primary focus will be improvement in attendance, “driven by increased accountability and consistency and consequences paired with appropriate interventions and support.” He said he will ask staff for a thumbs-up/sideways/down response to the draft statement and will return to the board on May 19 with the staff consensus and any recommended edits. Thiele also said district leaders will meet with EAB on May 20 to review evidence-based strategies and will present detailed work plans to the board in June.

Board members asked how success will be measured. Thiele and staff said the district will use chronic absenteeism — the metric that appears on the state report card and on the strategic plan indicator list — as the primary measurable, and that teams will develop lead indicators and submeasures over the summer. Thiele added that the district will also track related measures (for example, whether clearer consequences and classroom-level practices reduce in‑building truancy and increase period-by-period attendance).

Thiele stressed that the proposed goal is intentionally narrow so the district can “go all in” and move the other strategic indicators upward as a result. He said the administrative team will translate the statement of work into department- and building-level actions, and return to the board with a clear set of measurable targets and timelines.

Next steps: Thiele will circulate the draft statement of work to all staff for feedback, return to the board May 19 with staff responses and ask the board to approve the final statement of work so detailed plans and metrics can be developed over the summer.