District proposes K-2 attendance plan and "Start Strong" bus to reduce absences

District administrators presented a six-point plan to improve kindergarten through second-grade attendance, emphasizing early intervention and family outreach. The recommendations include creating an attendance PLC to keep attendance a consistent focus, standardizing Synergy attendance reporting across schools, strengthening family communications with teacher check-ins on the first day of absence, monthly recognition for perfect attendance, and reviewing the one-mile transportation radius for Lincoln students.

On the practical side, staff proposed a "Start Strong" bus pilot that would make an additional morning run to pick up students who miss their regular bus and provide breakfast and transport to school. "If the family calls and it's like, oh, man. The bus just drove off... we would have a set time that we could go get them, bring them to school, feed them some breakfast, and get them to class," the attendance lead said. Staff said the pilot would use a dedicated type 10 vehicle and a trained Lincoln staff driver and would initially focus on families living within roughly a 1-mile radius of Lincoln.

Board members asked about staffing, vehicle type and how ParentVUE/Synergy would be used; staff said professional development for teachers on timely gradebook and attendance entry would be part of implementation. The plan is intended to reduce chronic absenteeism and to be implemented in the 2026-27 school year if approved and funded.