Rocklin Unified credits attendance push as ADA rises above 95% and chronic absenteeism falls under 10%

Hannah Anderson, Rocklin Unified’s director of innovation in school programs, told the board the district’s attendance-improvement project lifted average daily attendance to about 95.44% last year and cut chronic absenteeism to 9.7%.

“Students who regularly attend school are learning in our schools,” Anderson said, citing district analyses that showed students who attended consistently were far more likely to meet CAASPP standards in math and English language arts. Anderson said kindergarteners who attended regularly outperformed peers on early literacy measures by large margins.

The presentation framed attendance as both an academic and fiscal priority. Anderson told trustees a one-percentage-point increase in attendance would bring roughly $1.38 million in funding and could fund roughly nine and a half intervention teachers or other staffing priorities.

The district credited a year-and-a-half effort that included revised attendance procedures and more training for attendance clerks, an online independent-study contracting system, targeted pilots (enhanced hygiene and outreach in kindergarten), attendance success plans at tiered levels, translated communications for families, and data monitoring through the EduCLIMBER system. Anderson said short-term independent study use rose and completion rates improved, especially at the high school level.

Superintendent Roger Stock praised the staff effort and the partnerships that supported outreach. “Any day or hour absent is a missed learning opportunity,” Stock said in remarks introduced during the presentation video.

Trustees pressed staff on how much independent study contributed to the attendance gains and on which grade bands still need work. Anderson said independent study likely accounted for a modest portion of the overall increase and that the team would provide more detailed breakdowns if requested. She also outlined goals for 2024–25: to reach roughly 96% average daily attendance and to reduce chronic absenteeism further toward pre-pandemic levels.

Anderson noted a recent legislative change reducing the minimum days to qualify for independent study from three to one and said staff will return with recommended policy changes, labor discussions, and training in September. The board asked staff to share the “myths” flyer and other parent-facing materials when they are released.

Next steps: reconvene the attendance work group, run targeted trials at selected sites, expand successful kindergarten hygiene pilots, monitor progress through EduCLIMBER and report regularly to the board.