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District 196 reports improved attendance and course-completion rates for 2024-25 school year
Summary
Districtwide "consistently attending" rate rose to about 84.8% with gains at elementary, middle and high school levels; course-completion rates rose but declined in trimester 3 as historically expected.
Jeremy Sorensen, Director of Elementary Education, and Stephen Belcamp, coordinator of research, assessment and analytics, presented District 196's 2024-25 attendance and course-completion data at the July 14 board meeting.
The data show a districtwide increase in students meeting the Minnesota Department of Education definition of "consistently attending" (attending more than 90% of enrolled days) to approximately 84.8%, up from 83% the prior year. Sorensen said the district had roughly 545 more students meeting that threshold this year compared with last year: elementary up 2.8 percentage points (about 350 students), middle school up 0.9 points (about 60 students) and high school up 1.5 points (about 135 students).
Belcamp told the board that the state average in the most recently published data was 74.5%, meaning District 196 remains above the statewide average. He stressed the district continues building school-level interventions and data dashboards to understand reasons for absences and to design targeted supports.
On course completion, the presenters said middle-school students who passed all trimester 1 classes numbered 86.1% and improved to 88.8% in trimester 2 before falling to 81% in trimester 3, a recurring pattern the district monitors. Belcamp highlighted that 94.95% of middle-school trimester 3 grades (counting all course grades) were passing grades.
High schools showed a similar pattern: 85.1% of students passed all courses in trimester 1, 90% in trimester 2 and 83% in trimester 3. When counted by individual grades, 91.14% of high-school trimester 3 grades were passing.
Board members asked about causes and equity. Member Robin asked whether the district can identify specific drivers of improved attendance; Sorensen said the district is “being really intentional about attendance” with building teams monitoring data and implementing plans, and agreed to follow up with more analysis. Member Catherine asked about disparities by demographic group; Belcamp noted the district can disaggregate data and agreed to follow up with longitudinal analyses to show whether gaps are closing or widening.
The presentation was informational; no board action was requested.
