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Richland 2 board hears chronic-absenteeism report; district below state average but gaps remain
Summary
District staff told the Richland School District 2 board that chronic absenteeism stands below the South Carolina average but remains a concern, with highest rates in 9th and 12th grades. Staff described tiered interventions, root causes from a small AIP sample, and the role of attendance interventionists funded after ESSER.
The Richland School District 2 board on Jan. 14 heard a presentation on chronic absenteeism showing the district’s rate below the statewide average but still problematic for student learning.
Laverne Riggins, identified in the presentation as the district’s lead for attendance reporting, told the board that the state average chronic-absence rate is 21.64 percent and that Richland 2’s rate at the district’s 90th day was 18.07 percent. "Chronic absenteeism focuses on the fact that a student is missing instruction and valuable time in class regardless of the reason why," Riggins said.
Riggins told trustees that absenteeism rose during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and that the district hired five attendance interventionists in 2022–23 to support tiered attendance work at schools. "We have to provide tiered attendance interventions just like we do for behavior and academics," she said, describing a system of districtwide (Tier 1) campaigns, targeted individual plans (Tier 2), family-directed…
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