Mesa Public Schools parent advisory committee recommends tighter attendance, discipline and clearer homework guidance

Mesa Public Schools'appointed Parent Advisory Committee members presented a package of recommendations to the Governing Board on May 20 after two meetings and a district data review focused on attendance, discipline and homework.

The committee''s attendance subcommittee, led by Carrie (office specialist, Field Elementary School), told the board that inconsistent staff and school communication is delaying parent notice about missed class periods and preventing timely corrective action. Carrie said some parents don't receive notification until the end of the day, making it impossible to get a student to class that same day. The group recommended separate attendance rules and communications for elementary and secondary schools, consistent tardy and absence letters across like-level sites, and a new attendance code for extended, documented absences (for example death or surgery) so parents who provided documentation are not flagged by automated absence letters.

Dr. Skinner and Mr. Rapier, who represented the discipline subcommittee, told the board the district'level discipline matrix is producing more consistency at levels 2 and above (office-managed incidents), but classroom-managed (level 1) behaviors remain inconsistent from teacher to teacher and school to school. The subcommittee recommended an abbreviated school-level discipline guide derived from the district matrix, additional professional learning for teachers on classroom interventions and parent communication, and a stronger SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee) role at each campus to agree locally how repeated level 1 behaviors will be escalated to level 2. Dr. Skinner said the discipline matrix is thorough but hard for parents to navigate online and suggested a one-page summary that principals could share with families.

Principal Gabby Buckley, representing the homework subcommittee, said homework guidance currently appears in three district places (policy 5-216.b, grading practice and the student handbook) and can be confusing. The subcommittee recommended revising the student handbook to clarify the purpose of homework, cross-link policy and grading practice documents, add research references, and provide school leaders with a guidance document so sites (particularly elementary SIACs) can adopt coherent, site-level homework practices. Buckley noted board policy already caps homework weighting at 10% of a student's grade and said the committee discussed aligning practice to that expectation.

Superintendent Dr. Andy Forliss told the board members that district leaders had shared the subcommittees'work with directors and that some recommendations are already moving into practice, including changes to attendance communication. Board members asked for the committee to return periodically with progress updates.

The board did not take formal action on these advisory recommendations during the meeting; district leaders said they would return to the board with implementation details and, where appropriate, proposed policy or procedure changes.