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Sugar Salem district touts 97% attendance goal, highlights use of ParentSquare and weekly tracking
Summary
Sugar Salem School District board chair Kristen Galbraith and Superintendent Jared Jenks described a district campaign aimed at keeping student attendance near 97% and explained how staff track weekly attendance and chronic absenteeism.
Kristen Galbraith, board chair of the Sugar Salem School District, and Jared Jenks, the district superintendent, told the Idaho House Committee on Education on Feb. 18 that the district runs a multi-pronged campaign to keep students in class and to reduce chronic absenteeism.
"Our goal has been ... 97% or higher attendance in our school district," Galbraith said, describing posters, banners and school visits used to encourage families to prioritize daily attendance. She said the district shares its attendance goals with families at the start of the school year and reminds them throughout the year.
Superintendent Jared Jenks said administrators track attendance weekly and review charts in administrative meetings. He said the district also monitors chronic absenteeism using the state education definition: "If they're absent for 10% or more of the school days in which they are enrolled, then they're considered chronically absentee," Jenks said. He noted that in a 180-day school year a student reaches that threshold after about 18 missed days.
Jenks said some schools display daily attendance percentages on marquees or hallway electronic boards to make progress visible to students and families. The district also uses an accreditation process with Cognia as a structured opportunity to self-evaluate and set improvement goals, he told the committee.
Galbraith and Jenks described several communication tools and parent engagement practices: a parent advisory committee that meets monthly; district and school websites and Facebook pages; email; and a new platform, ParentSquare, which principals can use to message targeted groups and which reports delivery success and invalid addresses. "This is the first year using it. Our parents have loved that," Galbraith said.
During questions, representatives pressed for concrete examples of parental responsiveness. Galbraith said Sugar Salem's smaller size helps: parents encounter trustees and administrators in local businesses and events and often contact them directly by phone. Jenks added that the district's business manager and principals bring weekly attendance charts to board and advisory meetings so the district can address problems promptly.
No formal action or funding request was made during the presentation.
