Hannah Penn principal outlines attendance, behavior and literacy efforts amid high chronic absenteeism

Dr. Brandon Hofnagle, principal of Hannah Penn, told the York City SD school board on March 19 that the school is focusing on attendance, restorative practices and targeted literacy and math interventions to improve student outcomes.

Hannah Penn serves a diverse student body, Hofnagle said, and is working to “equip the whole child by meeting the social, emotional, and physical needs to enable students to be effective learners and contributing members of their community.” He reported that chronic absenteeism at the school is about 27 percent and described a range of interventions intended to lower that rate.

The principal said the school created a hot list of chronically absent students, runs tiered interventions and uses incentives and family outreach to re-engage families. Hofnagle said transportation problems and travel outside the country contributed to early attendance losses, and that some families who had been communicative became difficult to reach: “We have a student right now that we've been trying to get ahold of the father and we can't,” he said.

School staff described disciplinary and social-emotional work that accompanies attendance efforts. Hofnagle told the board the suspension count was 13 incidents involving 74 students and the expulsion count was four at the time of his report, with two additional expulsions to be added. He said the school’s goal for the year included a 20 percent reduction in suspensions, and that restorative practices and PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) are central to that work.

Family First Health staff member Nigel Leslie described the partner agency’s in-school services and social-emotional curricula. “My role is able to provide these care and these services directly to the students that ultimately lead to success in the classroom, but also in their personal lives as well,” Leslie said. Leslie described two curricula used at Hannah Penn (Rainbow Days for K–4 and Bob and Life Skills for grades 5–8) and a calming space teachers can use for students who need immediate supports.

Teachers and counselors described how restorative circles, morning meetings and closing circles are used to build voice and accountability among students. Fifth–sixth grade teacher Monica Bowman described regrouping students based on Acadience data and said the classroom teams celebrated measurable gains on interim assessments: “We had 35 students from a combination of all center groups earn proficient or advance on their common interim,” Bowman said.

To address early-literacy gaps, Hannah Penn has implemented the 95% phonics intervention during small-group instructional blocks. Dr. Schmalzer, the school’s MTSS specialist, described the program as “an evidence based literacy intervention primarily focused on phonics” and said lessons are intended to be about 15 minutes per small-group rotation, aligned to benchmark and progress-monitoring data.

Hofnagle also highlighted staffing and program supports: the school reported two long-term substitute teachers (including for 7–8 grade math), two speech vacancies addressed by virtual services, and partnerships with Communities in Schools, CPC, PA Counseling and Family First Health. He said the school is pursuing a parent organization to strengthen family engagement and noted ongoing efforts to recruit and retain staff.

Hofnagle introduced Mrs. Garcia, a paraprofessional and parent liaison, who was honored by the school for her work supporting students and families. Garcia told the board she appreciated the support staff and singled out assistance provided for her son.

Board members asked about grade-level patterns in truancy (Hofnagle said it appears in both kindergarten and grades 7–8), the causes of absenteeism, and what the school is doing to reach families. Hofnagle cited transportation, chronic illness and family travel among the principal causes he and staff are addressing.

Hannah Penn leaders said they will continue to implement PBIS, restorative practices, the 95% phonics intervention, targeted math interventions (spring math), and partner services; they requested continued board support as they track interim and PSSA results later in the year.

The presentation closed after board questions and the principal introduced staff and partner representatives who attended the meeting.