Committee presses MCPS on chronic absenteeism; district cites weekly monitoring and local interventions

Councilmembers used the literacy briefing to press MCPS on chronic absenteeism and its relationship to achievement gaps. One member described attendance as a crisis-level issue during pandemic years and asked whether the district is correlating absenteeism with lower test scores. MCPS said it examines chronic absenteeism every Friday and intervenes immediately when patterns emerge.

MCPS cited an example at Glen Haven Elementary where focus groups with families uncovered safety and security concerns; district staff increased a visible presence in the neighborhood and reported the school‘s chronic absenteeism dropped significantly. "We did that, saw the chronic absenteeism drop significantly," an MCPS official said. District staff acknowledged a 3 percent drop in chronic absenteeism last year overall — largely in middle schools — but said additional elementary-level work remains to be done.