Board hears about Attendance Works pilot after district reports drop in chronic absenteeism at community schools

District leaders told the Board of Education on Jan. 9 that a pilot partnership with Attendance Works, a national organization focused on chronic absenteeism, produced measurable declines in participating community schools and that MCPS plans to expand the work.

Damon Moncelini, associate superintendent for Well‑Being and Student Services, said the Attendance Works pilot began with a set of community‑school sites and expanded this year. The program works with principals, counselors and parent coordinators to use research‑based, family‑centered strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism, he said. Moncelini said MCPS saw a district‑wide reduction in chronic absenteeism of roughly 3 percentage points and a 6.2 percentage‑point drop in the community schools that participated in the pilot.

"When we looked at our data in our community schools that participated in this program [in year one] we saw a 6.2% reduction in chronic absenteeism in those schools," Moncelini said. He described Attendance Works' emphasis on parent engagement, consistent communication about attendance, and targeted interventions when students cross thresholds toward chronic absence.

Board members asked for examples of the specific strategies schools used. Moncelini described outreach to parents to identify barriers (transportation, housing, hunger and language access), training for staff on family engagement, and progress monitoring tied to the district’s community schools model.

The agreement with Attendance Works appeared as item 6.2 in the consent packet; item 6.2 was pulled for brief discussion and later included in the consent block that was approved by the board unanimously.

Ending

Staff said they will expand proven Attendance Works strategies across additional community schools and continue to track chronic‑absence data, and the board approved the consent items that included the contract.