Seaside Middle School reports 20-point drop in chronic absenteeism, outlines interventions

Shelby Gagnen, the school’s student-support specialist, told the Seaside SD 10 board the middle school has reduced chronic absenteeism from about 56% last year to “about 37% of our students are chronically absent,” calling that roughly a 20 percentage-point improvement.

School leaders said they define chronic absenteeism as missing 10% of the school year and highlighted a three-tiered approach: universal supports for all students, targeted outreach and individualized intervention plans for students missing more than 20% of days. Gagnen described new outreach tactics including an attendance progress report sent with academic reports, monthly business-sponsored coupons mailed to families for students who meet attendance goals, and student “empathy interviews” designed to ask why a student is absent rather than simply penalize them.

Associate Principal Wendy Frasier framed attendance as foundational to academic recovery and said the district’s target is 90–95% regular attendance. Frasier said the school has seen month-to-month improvements in regular attenders and credited focused messaging and a trimester challenge that rewarded trimester-level attendance with lighthearted incentives.

Board members asked for clarity on how the school tracks improvements and whether the trend will persist through spring. The presenters noted the chronic-absence figure is a snapshot and that attendance typically rises in spring; they said the next steps include more consistent protocols for extended absences and deeper family and community partnerships to sustain gains.

What happens next: The board encouraged the administration to include attendance-maintenance cost estimates in the upcoming budget discussions and to report progress at future meetings.