Corsicana ISD reports improved attendance, lower chronic absenteeism after districtwide program

An unnamed district presenter updated the Corsicana ISD Board of Trustees on a district attendance initiative and reported improved attendance and reduced chronic absenteeism.

The presenter said the districts attendance rate increased from 93.7% last year to 95.6% for the current school year through Nov. 19. "95.6 is outstanding," the presenter said, adding that the district sees the change across grade groups and especially at the high school.

The presenter described a program launched the previous year that centralizes attendance communications (automated letters, texts and emails tied to the student data system), reduces administrative workload for principals, and supports targeted campus interventions. Campus-level strategies included family meetings for chronically absent students, principal and staff training, and coordination with the districts DA office to understand truancy procedures. The presenter said the district had not sent students for truancy referral this year so far: "We havent seen any this year."

Staff noted improved outcomes for several subgroups after expanded outreach and McKinney-Vento supports for homeless students. The presenter cited a roughly 45.4% reduction in chronic absenteeism districtwide and said principals are reviewing daily and weekly color-coded attendance reports to identify problem days and patterns.

Board members praised staff training and the data-driven approach; the presenter said administration will continue regular reporting and conduct another full data pull in March to compare year-to-date results against the prior year.