Charlottesville schools report rise in chronic absenteeism; staff outline interventions and state reporting rules

Charlottesville City Schools staff presented an attendance-process update and told the board chronic absenteeism is higher than pre-pandemic levels, with cumulative missed instruction identified as the chief concern.

"All attendance, all absenteeism matters because missed instruction is cumulative," the staff presenter told the board, explaining that the division reports chronic absenteeism to the state and that the state’s changing accreditation model now places absenteeism in the readiness category.

Key points from the presentation: - Chronic absenteeism threshold: staff said a student is considered chronically absent when absences reach 10 percent of the school year; the absolute number of days that corresponds to changes as the year progresses (for example, "if you've missed 2 days in the first month of school, you're chronically absent," staff said). Excused absences count toward chronic absenteeism even when they are excused. - State requirements for response: unexcused absences trigger progressively intensive responses under state rules — a required attendance conference after five unexcused absences, consideration of a referral to a student success team after seven, and possible court referral for continued unexcused absences. For absences without family communication, staff treat the days as truant and follow state reporting procedures. - Interventions: the division uses automated notices (phone/text) through third-party vendors, chronic absenteeism mailings, and school-based interventions. Tier 3 supports include social workers and mental-health professionals who carry targeted caseloads. Staff said they are increasing use of flexible in-person instruction as a make-up option; schools may require it for some students after assessing root causes. - Data quality and process improvements: staff acknowledged recent data corrections at Charlottesville High School (period attendance) and said they are doing day-by-day reconciliation to correct errors where students who were present were coded absent. That revision work accounts for changes to published percentages.

Numbers cited: staff said Charlottesville High School's cumulative rate for students missing 12 or more days reached roughly 32.68 percent in a most recent snapshot, a figure that prompted board concern about the workload required to support so many students. Staff clarified that attendance plans are required for unexcused absences and that many of the high school absences are coded as excused; the division is prioritizing interventions for students with the most significant barriers.

Board questions and community input: board members and public speakers pressed staff on what is being done to contact families (door knocks, counseling, transportation supports), whether schools have consistent attendance coding, and how suspension days figure into chronic absenteeism counts (staff confirmed days of suspension are counted as absences). Several board members asked staff to include more metrics in the written monthly report: specifically, the number of students on student-success plans, how many families received direct outreach, and the outcomes for students assigned to social workers.

Staff resources and allocation: staff said the division currently has three social workers focused primarily on attendance-related work and other school mental-health professionals who carry caseloads. Staff described goal-based measurement for those interventions (for example, increasing family communication and incremental attendance improvements) and stressed that family systems work can take months to change long-standing patterns.

Public comments: speakers described logistic barriers families face (work schedules, multiple jobs, transportation limitations, language barriers and caregiving needs) and urged the division to consider those constraints when designing interventions. Several speakers said some families lack flexibility to attend 5 p.m. meetings and asked for more accessible outreach scheduling.

Next steps: staff agreed to provide additional data points in upcoming written reports (including counts of students with attendance plans and more granular reconciliation of period versus daily attendance at the high school), and the board asked staff to continue refining practice and communicating corrections to families via ParentSquare and school counselors.

Ending: the board framed attendance as a complex cross-cutting challenge involving health, transportation and family resources; staff said they will continue targeted interventions and data clean-up and will provide more detailed monthly written updates to the board.