DCSD Attendance

DCSD aligns with national data showing that chronic absenteeism most significantly impacts kindergarten, 9th, and 12th grades. Recent state data reveals that chronic absenteeism—defined as when students miss 10% or more of the school year—remains a significant challenge, particularly in these transition years. These critical periods for academic and social development experience the highest rates of absenteeism across many states.

Key takeaways:

• Kindergarten: Many parents underestimate the importance of attendance at this early stage, often keeping children home for minor reasons.

• 9th Grade: The shift to high school can be overwhelming, with increased academic pressures and social adjustments contributing to more absences.

• 12th Grade: Seniors, often focused on post-graduation plans, may disengage from school, especially if they believe they've already met graduation requirements.

Research highlights that early intervention, family engagement, and school support systems can significantly reduce absenteeism. Schools that implement clear attendance policies, foster strong student connections, and address barriers to attendance see improved outcomes.

Addressing chronic absenteeism requires a collective effort—educators, families, and communities must work together to ensure students stay engaged and on track. Let’s continue to emphasize the importance of attendance—every day counts!

Read more here.

The chronic absenteeism data for the school district reveals notable trends across grade levels. The overall district average is 19%, with absenteeism rates varying significantly by grade.

• Lower elementary grades (K-5) show relatively lower absenteeism rates, ranging from 14% to 19%.
• Middle school (6th-8th grade) sees an increase, with 7th grade at 20% and 8th grade at 23%.
• High school (9th-12th grade) shows the most significant rise, peaking in 12th grade at 32%, the highest in the district.

Grades 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12 exceed the district average, highlighting the need for targeted interventions at these levels. The sharp increase in absenteeism in high school, particularly senior year, suggests potential disengagement or external factors influencing attendance.

• Is your child missing school due to anxiety? Handout

• Beginning of the year resource shared from Thompson School District
• Inspiring Best Practices for Improving Attendance of Students Experiencing Homelessness

Currently, the weekly report captures CA percentages for students who are the primary line of enrollment for your building and ranks CA% from highest to lowest. In the far-right columns, you will see historical information from the SARB tab and any recent entries from the attendance contact log. There have been many calls, HDTs, and emails regarding entries from the attendance contact not displaying in the weekly report. As of now, the report can only capture the most recent entry.

Summer plans involve revamping this report to include multiple entries from the attendance contact log ( if possible). Historically, this report had many columns that made it difficult to view on one screen. We will work to make this report clear and concise for data-driven attendance intervention practices.

During the spring months, consider hosting special activities that will encourage students to attend and that strengthen relationships. Count ME In’s Attendance March Madness is a fun, competitive way to encourage attendance by using a bracket-style challenge between classrooms or grade levels. Check out Count ME In’s toolkit.

Prepare to prevent a lag in attendance by sending a letter home or planning events that make school hard to miss. Check out our Spring Slide resources.

Our student attendance success plans can be a way of helping families identify backup support to get students to and from school when challenges arise.

One great way to connect with students and families through the spring is to use your social media to reinforce the idea that school is an active and engaging place to be. Take and post pictures of kids at school interacting in multiple ways. You can highlight kids at recess, engaging in lessons at their desks or on the rug, eating lunch in the cafeteria, playing sports in the gym, or singing in the choir.

These kinds of post emphasize the community a school creates and help reinforce that coming to school is not just sitting still – it’s movement, it’s connection, it’s relationship, it’s engagement.

For some examples of posts like these, check out the Greeley-Evens School District 6 Instagram account Greeley-Evans School D6 (@greeleyschools) - Instagram

Our next Attendance Staff Q & A with Lisa will be on April 16th

from 2-4 at the Legacy Campus in RM 241

• To be in compliance with State Board rule 1-CCR-301-1 statute, when you are end-dating or exiting a student for any reason, please use the last day of attendance as the end date. In reviewing district exit status reports, several schools are out of compliance and must be corrected as soon as possible.

CDE has introduced a new goal-setting tool to help plan and monitor the state's aim to reduce chronic absenteeism by 50%. With this dashboard, you can view attendance data at the state, district, and school levels, adjust the goals you want to set, and track progress over the past two years. CDE hopes this dashboard will assist you in setting and tracking your own attendance goals. Resources and tools to support your work with the dashboard will be available in early 2025, but in the meantime, please feel free to explore!

• IC Generated Attendance Letters

• Elementary Care and Concern Letters

• Elementary Exhibit A

• Secondary Exhibit A

• Exhibit B; All Levels

Email: lmdelapena@dcsdk12.org
Website: DCSD Attendance
Location: 373 Inverness Parkway, Englewood, CO, USA
Phone: 303-387-9636