Salem School officials report fewer absences and tardies after new attendance, cell-phone rules

Summary

At the Jan. 21 Salem School Board meeting, Salem High and Woodbury deans reported midyear gains after tightened attendance documentation and a tiered cell-phone policy: 981 fewer high-school absence days and roughly 1,620 fewer tardies in the first 18 weeks compared with last year; 24 electronic-device violations required dean intervention.

At the Jan. 21 Salem School Board meeting, Stephanie Nichols, dean at Salem High School, told the board that tightened attendance and tardy documentation and a tiered cell‑phone policy have produced measurable reductions in student absences and tardies midyear.

Nichols said, “we are down by 981 days,” meaning the high school recorded 981 fewer student absence days in the first 18 weeks of this school year compared with the same period in 2023–24. She also reported about 1,620 fewer tardies so far this year at the high school — a drop from roughly 4,300 year‑to‑date last year to about 2,700 this year. Harrison Little, dean at Woodbury School, said Woodbury recorded 367 fewer absences over a comparable span.

Board members were told the attendance changes rest on a new documentation policy: parents may call in up to five parent‑excused absences per year; after that the…

Salem School officials report fewer absences and tardies after new attendance, cell-phone rules

Summary

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