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BCPS reports large drop in chronic absenteeism; Woodlawn Middle cited as model
Summary
BCPS officials said chronic absenteeism has fallen systemwide and highlighted Woodlawn Middle School's drop from 49.2% to 21.33% over two years, attributing gains to a coordinated attendance campaign, community partnerships and individualized interventions.
Baltimore County Public Schools leaders on Wednesday described systemwide declines in chronic absenteeism and spotlighted Woodlawn Middle School's dramatic improvement as an example of what district officials called a coordinated, community-driven approach.
Ms. Mustipher, director of student support services, said the district's "Here for It" attendance campaign emphasizes engagement, school-level attendance teams, data dashboards and community partnerships. She said work with Attendance Works and a $20,000 commitment from Kaiser Permanente will support the campaign next school year.
"When you translate that, that's 19,365 students who've improved their attendance across time," Mustipher said, describing a roughly 17% improvement systemwide and noting the district is on track to meet a multi-year MSDE target to reduce chronic absenteeism by 15%.
Dr. Rochelle Archilas, principal of Woodlawn Middle School, told the board her school's chronic-absence rate fell from 49.2% to 21.33% in two years after the school implemented a collaborative attendance-monitoring system that includes pupil personnel workers, care liaisons, a community school facilitator, nurse, counselors and teachers.
"We prioritized individualized interventions by identifying root causes rather than simply reacting to symptoms," Archilas said. She described practical steps such as schedule adjustments to mix core and elective classes, immediate follow-up when students miss school, family outreach, home visits and in-school supports including expanded care closets and partnerships that delivered dental services to students.
Board members asked whether attendance gains are sustained by cohort. Mustipher said the district is tracking cohorts and seeing incremental gains overall, but noted some subgroups (including multilingual learners) have lagged and require targeted supports.
Officials said the district will continue data-driven monitoring and use school-level teams to tailor interventions. The presentation concluded with requests for continued community partnerships and follow-up reports on cohort-level outcomes and academic impacts tied to improved attendance.
