Trustees press district for data and strategy as chronic absenteeism remains elevated

During the LCAP discussion trustees focused sustained attention on chronic absenteeism and whether the plan's actions align with the scale and causes of the problem. Board members asked who the chronically absent students are, how they are distributed across grades and sites, and whether interventions in the LCAP are targeted enough.

Superintendent Christina Sutter described a tiered attendance approach: site outreach and phone calls, school attendance review teams (SART), district SARB hearings led by the child welfare specialist, and partnership with KKIS ("keeping kids in school") in collaboration with probation for higher‑level cases. Sutter said the district uses SchoolStatus and PowerSchool to identify patterns and target outreach, and that staff conduct home visits and develop individualized plans. "Good attendance means everything," she said.

Trustees pushed for numbers and disaggregation. One trustee estimated "about 510 kids" as chronically absent and asked whether the district had visited all families; staff answered they track cases and can supply follow‑up data. District staff provided some grade‑level figures from MTSS data: "33 percent chronic absentee last spring for TK; 25 percent in kinder; 21 percent 1st grade," and noted spikes in middle grades. Sutter acknowledged the data in the LCAP currently covers K–8 dashboard metrics and that high school statistics are tracked separately; she committed to providing the requested breakdown prior to the public hearing.