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District staff announce second 'Attendance Matters' outreach to visit families
Summary
A district staff member announced the second 'Attendance Matters' outreach, sending volunteers to visit families to address chronic absenteeism. The staffer cited research that missing more than 10% of instruction harms graduation and dropout outcomes and described door-to-door visits and resource connections.
A district staff member said the school system is launching its second attendance outreach of the year, part of an "Attendance Matters" day that will send volunteers to visit families at home to encourage students to attend school regularly.
"The research is very clear on the impact of students who miss more than 10% of instructional time in school," the staff member said, linking the outreach to studies that associate chronic absenteeism with lower graduation rates and higher dropout risk. The staff member said the 10% threshold guides the district's outreach focus.
The speaker described the program's origins in a small Student Services team that made home visits more than a decade ago and said the effort has expanded into a districtwide initiative with participation from all school sites. "So now it's, definitely become an initiative for our district. And we have all school sites participating," the staff member said.
Referencing recent School Attendance Review Board meetings, the staff member said some parents have told staff they feel isolated — quoting one parent who asked, "I have no village?" — and said volunteers will knock on doors to connect families with support. "We're going out and knocking on doors and saying, 'Hi, I'm a member of your village.' We're a community, and we're going to do our best to provide all the resources they need to ensure that their students can attend school," the staff member said.
No vote or formal board action was recorded in the provided transcript. The staff member framed the outreach as an ongoing, community-based effort to reduce chronic absenteeism and connect families to resources that support student attendance.
