Trustee presents data showing Moscow’s graduation rate near 80%; district leaders point to chronic absenteeism and nonlinear pathways

Trustee Brian Kennedy presented the board with a yearlong review of graduation and attendance metrics on June 23, saying Moscow’s four‑year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) is “almost 80%.” He cautioned that the ACGR is a limited, four‑year snapshot that can obscure students on five‑ or six‑year tracks and students who transfer or pursue alternative credentials.

Kennedy said chronic absenteeism — defined as missing 10% or more of school days — is strongly correlated with lower graduation rates nationally and locally. He identified disparities in statewide data by race and student group, noting Idaho’s ACGR lags the national 87% average and that state targets this year were about 82.5%.

The board and staff discussed how the ACGR is calculated and what it does and does not capture: “that number gets considered nationally, it gets considered statewide, and we get compared against other schools,” Kennedy said, adding that single metrics can hide important context about individual students’ pathways.

Paradise Creek Regional High School (PCR), the district’s alternative program for students aged up to 21, described its approach to keeping students on a completion pathway. PCR staff said many students enter the program off track and that the school focuses on individualized schedules, credit recovery and career or college transitions. Brian, a PCR presenter, reported strong results for small cohorts: for a group of 12 students intended to graduate on a four‑year track, 11 graduated (a 92% rate for that cohort).

PCR stressed strict but supportive attendance practices: staff said a year‑to‑date attendance rate measured on their analytics was high and that PCR enforces a five‑day absence rule tied to credit while allowing appeal if students can show academic recovery. Staff described layered supports — senior projects, targeted electives, apprenticeships and community partnerships — to reengage students who have long histories of absence. “If you miss five days, you lose credit at PCR, excused or unexcused,” the presenter said, explaining the appeal process where staff and the student review causes and remedies.

Administrators and trustees noted local supports that aim to reduce medically related absences, including an expanded medical liaison role. Staff said the district doubled the liaison stipend through a grant and increased nursing presence at Moscow High School, linking families to sliding‑scale pediatric care and dental services to remove practical barriers to attendance.

Why it matters: Trustees said the data should guide how the district targets resources. Board members pressed for clarity on which student groups drive the district’s average and for better tracking of transfers and non‑four‑year completion paths so the district can distinguish true dropouts from students on alternate but successful tracks. The presenters emphasized the value of combining statewide metrics with local student‑level analytics to design interventions.

Next steps: Board members and staff discussed making the presentation materials publicly available (Idaho Report Card data and district analytics were cited) and exploring ways to use local longitudinal data to refine interventions for chronically absent students and those on non‑linear pathways.