Alachua County schools report steady attendance, rising elementary discipline; district rolls out K‑12 LIFT and data‑dialogues

Mister Shalnut, the district data presenter, told the School Board of Alachua County at a March 14 workshop that the district’s month‑by‑month average attendance this year is “almost identical” to last year through February, but that chronic absenteeism has increased in every grade band.

Shalnut said the district is now presenting attendance as excused and unexcused absences together for transparency and identified three schools currently in state school improvement status — Alachua, Irby and Rawlings — and five “fragile” schools that recently exited state SI status: Shell, Idyllwild, Lake Forest, Terwilliger and Metcalf. He also told the board that “board policy 5,200 deals with excused absences” and explained parents may submit up to six notes per semester for excused absences.

Why it matters: Board members pressed staff for the next step beyond reporting. Several trustees said they want clearer evidence of what the district is doing differently to reduce chronic absence and to make sure limited resources (family liaisons, social workers, deans) are aligned across sites.

Key findings presented - Monthly average attendance (districtwide) through February is similar to 2023–24, Shalnut said; the single July data point reflects the district’s year‑round school schedule. - Districtwide chronic absenteeism has risen: board members cited year‑over‑year increases (elementary +21.1%, middle +36.6%, high +49% in the discussion). Shalnut and Dr. Patton said the district is prioritizing chronically absent students for targeted follow‑up. - School‑level patterns vary; some schools show strong month‑to‑month attendance declines around December and holiday periods.

Behavior and discipline The presentation showed a pronounced increase in recorded discipline referrals and out‑of‑school suspension (OSS) days at the elementary level. Shalnut reported that 86% of students had no discipline offenses this year and that 92% had zero or one offense, but other charts showed spikes at specific schools and grade levels. Shalnut said classroom disruption and “unsafe acts” were among the most common offenses across elementary and middle schools.

Dr. Edwards, who leads behavior work, told the board the district believes part of the increase reflects more consistent referral reporting at elementary schools and more intensive review of records. She said the district has changed how referrals are coded and is holding calibration meetings so schools apply the code of conduct consistently. Edwards also described revised expectations and training for deans so they act as instructional and behavior coaches rather than only writing referrals.

K‑12 LIFT and data dialogues Shalnut and Superintendent Patton described the rollout of K‑12 LIFT analytics together with structured “data‑dialogue” protocols for principals. Shalnut called K‑12 LIFT “an amazing tool” that converts scale scores to percentiles so teachers and parents can interpret performance and growth more easily. Patton said the aim is to “line up how we use our data” so assessment drives instruction and principals and district staff have the same focus.

District actions tied to the process include: - Principals and leadership participated in multi‑day trainings and then held focused, grade‑level data dialogues in each school to identify the grade or subject that presents the greatest concern and to agree next steps. - The district has asked principals to target interventions for students who are not on pace (growth indicator 1) or not growing quickly enough (growth indicator 2). - Shalnut noted a recent correction in the K‑12 LIFT feed that under‑counted some advanced fifth‑grade math students; the vendor updated the data that morning.

Board and public reaction Board members welcomed the new visualizations but repeatedly asked for clearer “what‑we‑are‑doing‑differently” answers: how the family‑liaison and social‑work functions are being coordinated, how deans will be used, and how professional development will be targeted to classroom management and student engagement. Trustee Surdon said, “So tell me … what are we doing different?” Trustee Vu pressed for proportionate charts (percent of enrollment) rather than raw counts when comparing schools. Trustee McNeely asked that at least one future data‑dialogue session be recorded or made available to the board because principals’ presentations were “so good.”

Public speakers including former district staff and community organizations highlighted both appreciation for the increased transparency and concern about violence toward staff and the rising referral numbers. Taylor Gilfillan, a former district employee and DAC co‑chair, urged broader access to K‑12 LIFT data and a one‑page public takeaways report. Crystal Tesman of ACA noted that referrals do not equal disciplinary consequences and urged supports for employees who face violence in schools.

Ending District staff said they will refine future reports to show proportional measures (percent of enrollment), provide more detail about how family liaisons and truancy officers are documenting interventions, and supply lists of specific “what we are doing differently” actions from principals’ data dialogues. Trustees asked for follow‑up detail on chronic absenteeism interventions and for school‑by‑school breakdowns of OSS days and repeat referrals.