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Lowell subcommittee reviews falling chronic absenteeism, expands tutoring but flags summer-school access
Summary
The School Improvement and Performance Management Subcommittee heard data showing a multi-year decline in chronic absenteeism, an announcement of a nearly $1.5 million Department of Education tutoring award, and committee concern about summer-school access, transportation and retention policy.
Chairperson Bauhu convened the School Improvement and Performance Management Subcommittee to review chronic absenteeism and district supports for students in grades 1–12. Miss Crocker Rovage told members the district is tracking chronic absenteeism continuously and that the state identifies a student as chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of school days.
"Chronic absenteeism is when a student is missing 10% or more of the school year," Miss Crocker Rovage said, illustrating the standard with the example that in a 180‑day year missing 18 days qualifies.
The presenter said district attendance has inched up while chronic absenteeism has fallen: daily attendance rose from about 91.5% in 2022–23 to 92.6% in 2024–25, and end‑of‑year chronic absenteeism dropped from 28.4% to 21.4% over roughly two years. She also flagged early‑grade progress and noted persistent challenges in older grades.
Committee members pressed staff on causes and responses to the jump in…
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