Palm Springs Unified reports falling chronic absenteeism, highlights Project Path for foster youth

Palm Springs Unified School District student services staff reported to the Board of Education on Oct. 14 that districtwide chronic absenteeism has fallen and described targeted programs aimed at keeping students in class.

At the meeting, Garrett Shepperjohn, coordinator of student services, said attendance and chronic absenteeism metrics are “improving.” He told the board the district’s chronic absenteeism rate has dropped roughly 10 percent since the pandemic and declined 7 percent from 2023–24 to last year.

The update centered on four parts of an attendance strategy: campus climate, attendance tracking, make-up programs (Saturday school and short-term independent study) and formal review boards (SART and SARB). Shepperjohn described a new focus on “bubble” students — those who missed about 10–13 percent of school days last year (roughly 18–21 days) and are at risk of becoming chronically absent — and said about 1,800 students fall in that category. He said work to reengage those students now could reduce the district chronic rate by about five percentage points if each school removes roughly 45 students from the bubble list.

Lisa Todd, director of student services, described Project Path (Promoting Achievement, Tenacity and Hope), a district initiative that assigns a dedicated Path counselor at each high school to support foster youth. Todd said the district currently identifies about 187 foster youth in the system and has trained registrars and partnered with the Riverside County Office of Education’s youth empowerment program to better connect those students with services. “Each high school has a dedicated path counselor,” Todd said.

Both presenters said the district is expanding prevention specialists and shifting responses to substance use on campuses away from suspension toward voluntary supports. Shepperjohn said the district is also using school climate survey (Panorama) data and localized root-cause analysis to tailor interventions by campus and neighborhood. He noted the district reviews bus routes and address-area attendance patterns to find local barriers.

Board members asked whether the district conducts home visits; Todd confirmed that district community liaisons conduct home visits when sites refer families with lost contact. The presentation closed with board and superintendent appreciation but no formal board action tied to the report.

Why it matters: chronic absenteeism correlates with lower academic outcomes, and the district tied a measurable decline in chronic absence to targeted staffing, data-driven site plans and supports for high-need groups such as foster youth.

Details: the district defines chronic absence as missing 10 percent of school days (about 18 days in a typical year). Staff reported a 10 percent overall drop in chronic absenteeism since the pandemic, a 7 percent improvement year over year, about 1,800 students in the attendance “bubble,” and roughly 187 foster youth in the district. Schools were instructed to target bubble students now to prevent repeat patterns next year.

The presentation included specific practices: Saturday schools and short-term independent study at each campus, trained registrars for foster-youth intake, Path counselors at each high school, partnerships with RCOE for root-cause interviews, and expanded voluntary prevention specialist services for substance-use response.

The board will receive further updates as staff monitor school-level plans and the district’s attendance metrics.