Coatesville High reports improved attendance, new student supports including student-run Care Closet and PACE lab

Coatesville Area Senior High School administrators told the Coatesville Area School Board on Jan. 28 that attendance and student supports have improved this year, and they outlined new programs aimed at college, career and transition readiness.

In a presentation to the board, CASH staff credited an early warning system (EWS) and schoolwide PBIS incentives for lifting attendance. The school set a goal that 85% of students would attend 85% of the time and reported meeting or exceeding that goal in recent months, administrators said.

School leaders described several initiatives designed to support students. Assistant principal Erin McDonnell and other staff described a biweekly EWS process run with the intermediate unit that identifies students at risk in attendance, behavior or grades; staff said the process pairs students with school adults for weekly check-ins and parent contact. The PBIS team’s recent “Ticketpalooza” rewarded positive behaviors and culminated in a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for roughly 100 students, district presenters said.

Administrators also described a mentoring and career-readiness effort called…