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Derby reports mixed progress on chronic absenteeism; several schools still above state target
Summary
District administrators presented second‑quarter chronic absenteeism data and building interventions. Several elementary schools met or trended toward targets while Derby North and the high school remained above the 12–13% goal.
District administrators presented the second‑quarter chronic‑absenteeism report on March 20, 2025, showing varied results across Derby Public Schools. The district’s target is approximately 12–13% (the state goal), and administrators said several schools are on track while others require continued work.
Rachel Eastman, principal at Cooper Elementary, described school‑level interventions used to reduce chronic absenteeism, including tiered attendance plans, a daily attendance scoreboard, incentives such as “caught in your seat,” coordinated family outreach at conference time, and use of an SRO (school resource officer) to do home checks. Eastman said the SRO “gets my text, she goes right out to the house, ask them why are you not at school,” and that in some cases immediate outreach accelerated re‑engagement.
Dr. Holly Putnam Jackson presented building‑by‑building figures: at the time of the report quarter‑2 rates included Cooper (about 18.3% at presentation, trending down), Derby Hills (10.8%), El Paso (14%), Oak Lawn (20.85%), Park Hill (11.41%), Stone Creek (10.72%), Swaney (14.3%), Tanglewood (7.74% in quarter 2 as reported), Derby Middle (16%), Derby North (19.21%) and Derby High (21.18%). Dr. Putnam Jackson noted seasonal flu spikes and membership‑day calculations affect short‑term variation and that the district expects to update quarter‑3 figures as those days are calculated.
Board members asked for clarification on how partial‑day absences are counted; administrators explained elementary attendance treats missing half a day as a full‑day absence for the metric, middle school requires presence for five periods to count as a full day, and high school requires three periods. Staff said they are expanding attendance codes to capture early arrival/early dismissal for clearer analysis.
Administrators said they will continue tier‑2 and tier‑3 family interventions, coordinate with social workers and attendance‑care teams, and provide an updated report when quarter‑3 calculations are complete.
