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Eagle Point SD 9 reviews attendance tracker, tightens virtual attendance rules
Summary
District staff reported a small dip in overall attendance for October and described new attendance tracking and outreach measures, including a recent illness code and required conferences after 10 and 14 days of absence. Schools will continue family engagement nights and targeted follow-up for chronic absences.
District staff presented a new attendance and enrollment tracker at the Eagle Point School District 9 board work session on Nov. 19, reporting the district was down about 1.13% in overall attendance for October while highlighting high-performing grades and several that remain low. The presentation noted fourth grade, third grade and kindergarten among the strongest performers and said eleventh, twelfth and tenth grades are currently the most challenged.
The staff presenter said the district has implemented a refreshed set of absence codes and is now sending letters for additional codes, including an illness code that was added the Monday before the meeting. "We decided, yep, we need these letters to be sent," the presenter said, explaining schools currently send letters at 7, 9, 10 and 14 days and require a conference at 10 and 14 days. The district indicated staff may manually suppress letters in rare cases (for example, hospitalization).
Board members asked how the attendance change interacts with school-specific numbers and virtual-program reporting. The presenter said ERCO recently instituted a stricter online-attendance policy requiring two types of check‑ins and assignment completion, which has raised absences in that program but also led to more students completing work. "We're holding the line," the presenter said of the new ERCO policy, and added that early outcomes include higher passing rates in quarter one than last year.
To support outreach, the district described family attendance engagement nights that include resources for families and instruction on using ParentVUE, weekly school-level spreadsheets tracking individual students, and home‑visit follow-ups by staff when students do not respond. The presenter said principals have asked for "backup"—district support for parent nights and community engagement to improve attendance.
Board members and staff also discussed which absence codes are counted and how chronic status is determined. The presenter defined chronic as 10% or more absences and confirmed the district will continue to require conferences and interventions for students who meet those thresholds. A follow-up attendance update will be provided in March.
The board did not take a formal vote on attendance policy at the work session; staff said some changes (for example, ERCO's policy) are already implemented at the site level and that the district will continue to refine communications and monitoring.
