ETHS reports mostly stable attendance but reopens review of no-credit policy over equity concerns
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Summary
Principal Dr. McNeil told the Board on Feb. 9 that 91% of students had under 5% unexcused absences in Q2 and that the district is reviewing its 'no credit' policy after concerns it disproportionately affects Black and Brown students; administrators described tiered MTSS interventions, weekly monitoring, and partnerships with North Cook attendance advocates.
Principal Dr. McNeil presented the Evanston Township High School District 202 second-quarter attendance dashboard and urged the board to consider attendance as a leading indicator of academic and social-emotional outcomes. "During quarter 2, 91 percent of students had less than 5% of their total absences logged as unexcused absences," she said, and noted the rate has remained consistent since quarter 1.
Dr. McNeil described weekly, school-level monitoring that shows 81–85% of students have no unexcused absences week to week and that only about 1.5–2% of students have two or more unexcused absences in a given week. She also highlighted tardiness: "During second quarter, 26 to 27% of students had 1 to 2 tardies," while roughly two-thirds of students had no weekly tardies.
The presentation underscored targeted interventions through the district's MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and SST (Student Support Team) structures. Dr. McNeil said the district is using SST-3 meetings to bring parents into focused intervention planning for high-need students and has reintroduced incentives and clearer hall-check procedures to reduce first-block tardies. She described partnerships with North Cook attendance advocates who log attendance data into the district's Panorama system and support outreach to students.
The board and Dr. McNeil discussed the district's no-credit (NC) policy, which assigns no credit when a student accrues more than six unexcused absences in a single course. Dr. McNeil said the policy review is motivated by concerns about inequitable outcomes, with a specific focus on disparate impact on Black and Brown students: "Our view of this policy is driven by concerns about inequitable outcomes and a disparate impact on black and brown students." The board asked for continued monitoring and for administrators to bring follow-up recommendations as they complete disaggregated analyses.
The presentation closed with board members asking for clarification on timing (most tardies occur in first block) and an outline of next steps: continued weekly monitoring, targeted tier-3 supports, and further policy review and community engagement around the NC policy.
