Richfield Middle School tells board tardies fell more than half; sets attendance, SEL and academic targets

Summary

At the Oct. 6 Richfield School Board meeting, Principal Erica Barlow and her team reported a roughly 51–52% reduction in recorded tardies/partial absences compared with two years ago, outlined new intervention courses and set modest growth targets for attendance, social-emotional learning and math growth for 2025–26.

Principal Erica Barlow told the Richfield School Board on Oct. 6 that Richfield Middle School has recorded substantial reductions in tardies and partial absences and has set new academic and social-emotional goals for 2025–26.

Barlow said two years ago the school recorded “over 35,000 tardies or partial absences.” Last school year, she said, the school achieved “about a 51 to a 52% decrease” after implementing a weekly-data review, advisory-level tracking and targeted interventions. The middle school’s course-passing rate increased from about 95% to 96%, Barlow said, and the school ended the prior year with 95 “suspendable events,” below a previously set ceiling of 100.

The board heard specifics about this year’s goals: reduce tardies and partial absences by 3% (which Barlow said would equal 517 fewer tardies based on the school’s…

Richfield Middle School tells board tardies fell more than half; sets attendance, SEL and academic targets

Summary

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