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Romney Marsh Academy credits ‘Power of Presence’ initiative as chronic absenteeism falls
Summary
School leaders told the Revere School Committee that a DESE-backed attendance campaign and increased administrator/classroom coaching corresponded with a drop in chronic absenteeism and discipline referrals at Romney Marsh Academy.
Romney Marsh Academy principals and staff told the Revere School Committee on April 15 that a monthlong student engagement initiative, combined with more frequent administrator and instructional-coach classroom observations, has tracked with measurable improvements in attendance and behavior.
The academy’s principal said the school’s chronic absenteeism rate was 23.22% in April 2024 and that, as of a recent pull of the attendance platform, the rate had fallen to 17.25% — “almost a 6 percent improvement in chronic absenteeism,” she said. She also said the school’s overall attendance rate climbed to 94.13% and described that as “building on this momentum.”
The initiative — launched in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as the “Power of Presence” campaign — used advisory classroom lessons, a door‑decoration contest and a four‑week tardy competition with weekly incentives. Guidance counselor Ms. Gregorio described daily advisory themes intended to “learn more about what they can do to attend school, what motivates them.” Eighth‑grade students credited the incentives and peer accountability: “We believe that showing up in school is crucial for academic success, social emotional development and our overall well‑being,” said Marilyn Baez, an eighth‑grade student who spoke to the committee.
School leaders also tied academic support strategies to the attendance work. From mid‑January to early April, administrators and instructional coaches logged 428 formal classroom observations and provided written feedback, the principal reported. Observational ratings the district tracked showed gains on three focus questions: alignment and rigor of grade‑level tasks, whether lessons had an explicit purpose students could state, and who was carrying the cognitive load in class. The principal said lessons rated as rigorous rose from 50% (Jan–mid‑Feb) to 60% (mid‑Feb–April 8). The share of lessons where students carried most of the thinking rose from 40% to 70% in the same period.
Leaders also reported discipline improvements. The principal said a year‑to‑year comparison of teacher‑logged behavior referrals dropped from about 1,707 on the Google tracking sheet this time last year to roughly 700 this year — a 56.6% decrease — and that reportable incidents requiring family meetings or suspension hearings fell from 23 (two years ago) to 15 (last year) to 3 this year.
Committee members asked for clarification on the tardy metric and how it is measured. The principal said the competition targeted both tardy to school and tardy to class. Committee member Mr. Caggiano also asked whether the platform data staff used is accessible; the principal described a new district tool that allows administrators to track daily and historical metrics.
The presentation closed with committee praise for the students’ public speaking and a request from members to continue reporting follow‑up data.
Romney Marsh Academy staff said they will continue the DESE partnership and maintain the instructional‑presence work into the next school year.
