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Bound Brook outlines chronic-absenteeism plan; board honors students and staff
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Summary
District staff presented a corrective action plan to reduce chronic absenteeism, emphasizing early intervention, data monitoring and parent outreach; the board also recognized student-of-the-month recipients and named Ashley Levitt district staff member of the month.
At its March meeting the Bound Brook Board of Education heard a detailed presentation on chronic absenteeism and recognized students and staff across the district.
Mr. Ross, who presented the corrective action plan (CAP) for chronic absenteeism, told the board that New Jersey requires a CAP when chronic absence reaches 10%—defined in the presentation as 18 days absent out of 180 days. "If we hit a 10% mark of students being 18 days absence out of 180 days, then we need to create a corrective action plan to make sure we get below that 10%," he said. He described the district’s approach: data monitoring via the Genesis system (disaggregated by grade, race, gender and economic status), a tiered early-intervention process (letters at 4, 8 and 12 absences), and a building-level "trifecta" of supports involving a counselor, teacher and mentor to coordinate outreach to families.
Mr. Ross identified common barriers—transportation in a walking district for older students, misconceptions about excused sick days, extended family travel, and lower mandatory attendance in pre-K—and highlighted building-based incentives such as attendance signage, social events, "March Madness" style attendance competitions and small rewards to encourage improvement. He said administrators will continue monitoring and report back in a few months.
Recognition and awards: The board read a resolution honoring Joelle Orellana as the district’s nominee for the Somerset County/New Jersey School Boards Association Unsung Hero Award (noted award date 03/02/2026). The meeting also included student-of-the-month recognitions from multiple schools (examples named during the meeting: Cora Atkinson, Milo Foote, Abigail Aldana Hernandez, Isaias Perez Philippe, Diana Alonzo Reyes, Sofia Vasquez, Zoe Acevedo, Joaquin Rosa, Lady Miranda, Moaz Adelmonem). Ashley Levitt of Bound Brook High School was named district staff member of the month; presenters highlighted her instructional leadership, shared resources and work advising the National English Honor Society.
What’s next: The district will use targeted data and building-based strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism and will report progress to the board in subsequent meetings. The recognitions were presented as formal resolutions and recorded in the meeting minutes.
