Westwood Heights board review shows low index scores tied to chronic absenteeism; student proposes late-start option

Miss Richardson, the district administrator, presented the Westwood Heights Schools district’s school-index data at the board meeting, saying several buildings’ index scores were driven down mainly by attendance problems, staffing shortages and lingering COVID-era learning loss. "Our overall index for Hamady L last year was 56.1," she said, noting the school is not identified for state supports because students there do not take the same state tests used in the index.

The presentation broke the index into components such as school quality (attendance, access to arts and physical education, librarians), advanced coursework and postsecondary enrollment. Richardson said Hamady L enrolled 164 students in 2023–24 and that a majority were "not on track in attendance," adding that chronic truancy — described in the presentation as 10 or more absences — was a main factor lowering the building’s index score. She also said some subgroups (English-language learners and other small subgroups) are recorded as…