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Central SD 13J board hears attendance report; district up 1 point in September overall
Summary
Superintendent Jennifer Kubica told the board the district’s September attendance was 1 percentage point higher than last year overall, while students with disabilities trailed last year by three points; the district plans monthly attendance reporting and community outreach including home visits.
The Central SD 13J Board of Directors on Wednesday received a data report on attendance and culture-and-climate survey results that the district says will shape action plans this school year.
Superintendent Jennifer Kubica told the board the district’s September overall attendance was 1 percentage point higher than the same month last year, but she flagged declines for students with disabilities, which were down about three percentage points. The district also reported a one-point increase for economically disadvantaged students compared with last year.
"As a superintendent, I'm going to say it publicly: we need kids at school," Kubica said, emphasizing regular attendance as a district strategic metric and a priority for continuous improvement.
Kubica reviewed results from student, parent and staff culture-and-climate surveys administered by Student Education. She said the survey scale is 1 to 5 and highlighted strengths — students report that learning is important and families feel respected at school — and areas for improvement, including consistent enforcement of school rules and student-to-student respect.
District staff described strategies intended to raise attendance: building welcoming environments, strengthening classroom engagement, recognizing staff, and targeted communications such as parent messages and phone outreach. Kubica and principals noted one school’s family visits as an example: staff conducted home visits and left notes encouraging attendance; the school reported that students the staff visited attended the next day.
Board members asked about operational details. Kubica said buildings are developing local action plans focused on one or two priorities and that the board will receive the attendance slide at every meeting to track changes month to month. She said the district will gather parent feedback this week with a short survey asking what the district should keep doing and what to change, to move ratings closer to a 5.
