Hawthorne schools target three schools for corrective action after rise in chronic absenteeism
Summary
District staff reported corrective-action plans for Hawthorne High, Lincoln Middle and Washington Elementary after chronic absenteeism rose above the state 10% threshold; the board heard survey results and a multi-tiered strategy to improve attendance.
Hawthorne Public School District officials told the Board of Education on Dec. 16 that three schools have been identified for corrective action after chronic absenteeism exceeded the state threshold.
At a CNI committee update, Mrs. Scott said the state flags a school when more than 10 percent of enrolled students miss more than 18 days in a school year. "Hawthorne was noted as being in need of improvement in the area of chronic absenteeism," she said, and district staff prepared a corrective-action plan for the three target schools: Hawthorne High School, Lincoln Middle School and Washington Elementary School.
The committee presented survey results used to inform the plan. Mrs. Scott reported that Hawthorne High School had 98 respondents, of whom "93 percent" identified illness as the primary reason for absences and 39 percent selected doctor appointments; Lincoln Middle School had 140 respondents ("92% chose illness" and 33% doctor appointments); Washington Elementary had 32 respondents (81% illness, 34% appointments). The district noted the survey went to all families at those schools and was not limited to chronically absent families.
The corrective-action approach includes tiered interventions: universal (tier 1) strategies such as morning meetings and class-level reminders about attendance, automated calls when students are absent, and daily teacher check-ins; tier 2 and 3 steps include letters sent at set absence intervals, parent/caregiver meetings, referral to internal problem-solving teams and, ultimately, truancy procedures as defined by district policy.
Mrs. Scott said tools built into the district’s attendance system can trigger outreach in real time — for example, an automated letter after a student reaches a set absence threshold — and that strategies will be tailored by school. She cautioned that the committee’s survey respondents may not fully represent families most affected by chronic absenteeism.
Board members asked clarifying questions about outreach and the limits of state processes for truancy, which require judicial steps. The district emphasized that while statewide absenteeism levels are higher, the district remains below the state average overall but must still address pockets of elevated absences.
The board did not take formal action on the corrective plans at the meeting; the committee will continue work on school-level binders and presentations to QSAT as required.
