District launches 'Every Day in May' incentive push as absenteeism dips but remains high

The school division told the board it has reduced chronic absenteeism since last year but remains above its target and is launching an incentive campaign to encourage students to attend through the last weeks of the school year.

Dr. Yasmin Gay, the chief of staff, defined chronic absenteeism under Virginia policy as missing 10% or more of school days and gave the division’s figures: a 2024–25 year‑end chronic absenteeism rate of 37.87% and a divisionwide rate of 31.5% as of April 28. She said the internal division goal for average daily attendance is 95%; the division’s ADA stood at 91% as of the April snapshot.

Dr. Tori Manson, assistant superintendent for student services, explained ‘‘recruitment time’’—three hours of in‑person makeup instruction delivered by licensed teachers outside normal hours—can be counted in state submissions and that the district will include those hours in the final June report. She said adding recruitment time to the year‑end submission could change the final chronic‑absence figure.

To encourage attendance during upcoming testing and the final instructional days, the division unveiled "Every Day in May," a three‑week incentive campaign with weekly pop‑up surprises at schools and donated prizes. Students who reduce absences or achieve perfect attendance in May are eligible for rewards ranging from gift cards to larger prizes; parents are also included in raffles. Dr. Manson said some prizes (a PS5 and multiple gift cards) were donated by community partners and that the district is actively soliciting additional $25 gift cards to expand weekly pop‑up giveaways.

Board members suggested targeting Monday absence patterns and adding parent engagement strategies; staff said they would explore Monday outreach and planned a communications push to amplify the campaign.