Taos schools roll out districtwide attendance protocols, expand coaches and peer task force to reduce chronic absenteeism

Taos Municipal Schools presented a districtwide attendance initiative Jan. 22 that standardizes early interventions, funds attendance coaches and creates a student peer attendance task force to address chronic absenteeism.

Superintendent Dr. Layton said the district has been working to standardize attendance protocols across sites and reported enrollment at about 1,780 students. “We are currently sitting at 1,780,” Layton said while reviewing enrollment and attendance trends.

The district described a multi‑layered approach: site self‑assessments, standard district protocols for tiered attendance interventions, dedicated funding for attendance coach incentives, and partnerships with community schools and juvenile probation (JPO) for higher‑tier referrals. Carla (district attendance lead) said coaches meet every other week to align practice and track protocols.

Attendance coaches at school sites described site‑level work. At Enos Garcia, attendance coach Dorel Spell said the school recognizes student and staff attendance publicly and posts a monthly “student of the month” wall. “Our students are very, very honest,” Spell said, describing how students write why they attend school and then display that reason in the hallway. At Taos Middle School, attendance coach Anita Rodriguez described individual attendance improvement plans, peer accountability pairings and parent meetings used to keep students from escalating into tier‑3 or tier‑4 referrals. “When parents get that tier 1, they start kind of panicking because it said, okay, if your kid continues to miss, these are the consequences,” Rodriguez said.

Why it matters: District presenters tied attendance directly to academic outcomes and graduation: school staff reported that many students who fail multiple classes also show attendance warning signs. Taos High staff described Truancy‑related services and McKinney‑Vento supports; Dr. Layton noted 130 high‑school students currently qualify for McKinney‑Vento homeless supports.

Results and pilots: Coaches reported modest attendance improvements compared with last year. Enos Garcia and Taos Middle School provided counts showing percentage increases in site attendance and reduced chronic rates for some cohorts. Middle School coach Anita Rodriguez said site attendance rose from mid‑80s to roughly 88% overall at her site after targeted interventions.

District tools: The district uses PowerSchool early‑warning alerts and Panorama for logging parent contacts. Coaches emphasized accurate daily attendance records and timely PowerSchool entry as critical first steps. The district is considering an attendance summit with local employers and partners to align supports and shift community norms about student presence.

Next steps: The board and superintendent discussed creating a public recognition (photos) of attendance staff and scheduled further staff coordination. The district will continue to refine protocols, pursue modest funding for coach incentives, expand peer attendance task force activities and monitor outcomes for the next reporting cycle.

Ending: District leaders said attendance remains a top operational priority and that continued cross‑site coordination, community partnerships and targeted casework are the path to reducing chronic absenteeism.