Region-wide attendance reached 95.6% yesterday, tracking strong for a Thursday, with encouraging drops in chronic absence rates at four of five schools compared to last week.
At a Glance
| School | Attendance | Chronic Absent | Δ Week | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REGION | 95.6% | 143 (13.6%) | -1.5 | `[STATUS:WATCH]` |
| BCPS | 96.0% | 18 (6.9%) | -1.3 | `[STATUS:STRONG]` |
| KBC | 97.0% | 3 (3.0%) | -2.3 | `[STATUS:STRONG]` |
| DELA | 94.9% | 78 (16.7%) | -1.7 | `[STATUS:CRITICAL]` |
| DCHS | 94.3% | 44 (19.9%) | -1.1 | `[STATUS:CRITICAL]` |
Today's Focus: Chronic Absence Recovery
The network's chronic absence count dropped to 143 students (13.6%), down from 15.1% last week — the best improvement we've seen this quarter. KBC leads with just 3 chronically absent students (3.0% rate), while BCPS maintains strong performance at 6.9%.
DCHS remains the primary concern with 44 students chronically absent (19.9%), though this represents improvement from last week's 21.0%. The Attendance Dashboard shows grade-level patterns that warrant principal review, particularly in grades 10-11.
DELA's 16.7% rate, while still elevated, shows meaningful progress from 18.4% last week. With 78 students affected, family outreach campaigns appear to be gaining traction in the elementary grades.
Quick Notes
Enrollment: Stable at 1,048 students, down 36 from October 1 (-3.3%). Recent activity includes four Thomas family siblings enrolling yesterday — MarTravious (8th, DCHS), Kaden (7th, DCHS), Seryiah (10th, DCHS), and Tamyia (2nd, DELA) — plus Joshua Thomas (4th, DELA) backdated to January 23rd.
Teacher Compliance: Mixed performance with BCPS at 96% and DELA at 90%, but concerning gaps at DCHS (22%) and particularly KBC (2.4%). Secondary attendance figures should be interpreted cautiously given compliance rates below 50%.
Contact Coverage: Strong at 99.7% region-wide, with only 3 students lacking family contact information.
Staffing Update
Looking ahead to Friday: 11 staff members scheduled out across the region (6.6% absence rate). DCHS has 6 staff out, including 4 pending sick leave requests that need approval. The Staff Dashboard shows full coverage details.
Recent staffing note: Lauren Bell joined as a new hire on January 29th.
Happy birthday tomorrow to Mark Bartlett (Teacher, KBC)!
This Week's Ask
DCHS: Approve 4 pending sick leave requests before school starts Friday to avoid coverage gaps.
Secondary schools: Principal check-in on attendance compliance expectations — current rates make student attendance data unreliable.
— Data Team