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Committee tightens attendance reporting as members warn chronic absenteeism 'is embarrassing'
Summary
District leaders and committee members debated chronic absenteeism rates, a stricter excused‑absence policy requiring medical notes, loss of local truancy courts and school-level interventions (Thompson reported ~80 intervention plans); speakers urged deeper family and community partnerships.
Director Andre briefed the committee on the district’s updated attendance policies and interventions, saying the administration revised how absences are classified so only documented medical reasons count as excused in many cases. The change, she said, produced a noticeable shift in the ratio of excused to unexcused absences in recent reporting.
A school committee member characterized the attendance picture bluntly: “we're the second…
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