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Binghamton outlines tiered attendance strategy after Roosevelt pilot halves some chronic absenteeism cases
Summary
The board heard detailed attendance-task-force findings: Roosevelt Elementary’s tier 2 challenge cut the initial target population, family conferences improved attendance for many students, and the district is using a three-tier intervention flowchart (including hardship busing) to address chronic absence.
Board members received an extended update on Jan. 27 about the district’s attendance work, combining school-level pilots, data analysis and a districtwide attendance-task-force rollout.
Nicole Keener and Christy (presenters from Theodore Roosevelt/Roosevelt Elementary) described a tier 2 attendance challenge that began with 84 students the first year and 42 this year; of those 42, 20 had attendance at or above 90% following the intervention and 15 additional students were added midyear. They described family meetings (16 scheduled, eight attended) and follow-up outreach; attendance improved for 12 of an original focus group of 22 students who had multi-year concerns.
District leaders explained the attendance task force’s tiered flowchart (Tier 1 universal supports; Tier 2 targeted interventions; Tier 3 intensive supports) and specific steps: scripted, nonthreatening outreach by trained attendance clerks; EduPlanner documentation of interventions; a trained van driver for hardship transportation; and coordinated pupil-services involvement when child-protective concerns arise. A district official said the task force emphasizes nonpunitive engagement first and reserves legal steps (including referral to child-protective services or the district attorney) only after exhaustive supports are documented.
Presenters reviewed analytics supplied by a local university project and internal EduClimber/EduPlanner extracts: chronic absenteeism remains a district issue, with elevated rates in some middle-school and high-school cohorts; students not chronically absent had higher GPAs in middle and high school. The board discussed barriers raised in family meetings — cold weather, asthma, transportation, poverty and unstable housing — and asked for further breakdowns of students waiting for special-education placements versus new capacity created by capital expansion plans.
District leaders said the attendance work has been systematically documented so classroom teachers and future-year staff can see which interventions helped a student. They asked the board to support continued cross-department coordination and community partnerships to address underlying barriers.
