MCPS reports mixed absenteeism progress; Metz trims chronic absenteeism from 24% to 16% while Osborne keeps work underway

Manassas City Public Schools delivered a mid‑year attendance update on Feb. 25 showing schools are using a mix of proactive relationship‑building and targeted recovery programs to reduce chronic absenteeism, though challenges remain at the high‑school level.

The update, led by executive director for accountability and finance Dr. Casada, division attendance manager Dr. Zaitz, Metz Middle School Principal Juliette Finnegan and Osborne High School Principal Dr. Chapman, outlined division protocols and school‑level interventions. The division defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of membership days (for a 180‑day year, 18 days or more).

Why it matters Chronic absenteeism is now part of state and federal accountability measures because missed days mean missed instruction. The division’s mid‑year monitoring treats the 10% threshold as a watch list for targeted interventions; adjustments and credits for makeup instruction are applied at year end under state rules.

School results and strategies Metz Middle School reported an improvement from 24% chronic absenteeism last year to 16% this year as of the Feb. 13 snapshot. Principal Juliette Finnegan credited a combination of active family engagement, a 23‑minute daily homeroom/advisory block, consistent staff greetings and an early‑warning data process. "We engage families proactively through consistent communication... and we reinforce this message at every event and meeting we have with families," Finnegan said. Metz’s attendance team meets weekly, selects star students, runs small‑group check‑ins, and offers after‑school clubs to boost belonging and attendance.

At Osborne High School Principal Dr. Chapman described a two‑pronged approach: proactive education for students/families about attendance and reactive recovery for students who have already missed significant time. Osborne administrators visited every English class in small groups to present attendance data, ran "Chats with Chapman" meetings targeted to families (one session yielded 54 attendees after personalized invites) and expanded academic recovery options including Saturday Learning Seminars and referral‑based Learning Labs. "We have consistently been averaging over a hundred students" at most Saturday learning sessions, Chapman said, and her school set an intermediate goal of reducing chronic absenteeism to 25% by year end (with a longer‑term aim near 15%).

Division process and tools Dr. Zaitz said the division has clarified roles: teachers are the first line capturing attendance and reaching out; counselors and family liaisons provide follow‑up; attendance officers handle compliance and, when required, truancy procedures. The division is reworking attendance coding in the student information system to make cause analysis (illness, travel, suspension) easier and is launching an attendance steering committee to improve consistency across buildings.

Common causes and costs The division’s analysis found illness and travel as the most frequent reasons for excessive absences this year; at the high‑school level, absences also correlate with academic decline. Zaitz reiterated that flexible instructional time (after‑school or weekend makeup taught by licensed teachers) can offset missed instruction and be counted in state calculations, but such programs require staff time and cost.

Board conversation Board members asked for more granular counts (e.g., excused illness vs. unexcused) and for costs tied to expanded recovery programs; staff said they would provide those figures. Several board members praised Metz’s progress and asked Osborne about schedule changes and the implementation of an electronic hall‑pass system (Osborne said e‑hall passes saw uneven classroom adoption and technical issues and may not be renewed next year).

Ending: next steps The division will continue weekly and monthly data pulls, refine attendance coding and report cost estimates for recovery programs on request. Principals and the division attendance team emphasized early, consistent family outreach and increased in‑school belonging activities as keys to sustaining gains.