102 school days. 4 campuses. 1,083 students. This is what the numbers look like before we ask what they mean.
Every school day from August 11, 2025 through February 9, 2026. Each cell is one day, colored by the district attendance rate. The gap in late January is the ice storm.
A major ice storm hit the Southeast US on January 24, 2026. KIPP Delta closed all campuses for a full week (January 26-30) and two additional days (February 2-3). The blank stripe in the calendar marks this 10-day absence from instruction. February 4 was the first normal school day back. February 6 -- the apparent crash visible in the calendar -- was only the second day back after 10 days away.
Monthly attendance by campus. Every school follows the same shape: strong start, gradual decay toward December, partial recovery in January. The question is how deep each school dips.
Twelve years of attendance data, 2015 through the current year. Each sparkline traces one school's annual rate. The 2021 spike is the COVID virtual year -- high attendance numbers that reflected logins, not bodies in chairs.
Every campus pays a Friday tax. Attendance drops every Friday without exception. KBC loses the most -- 3.4 points from its best day. Every school drops at least 2 points on Fridays. The data suggests Friday interventions could recover 15-20 student-days per week across the district.
Chronic absence (below 90% YTD) by grade and school. The cells show the percentage of students who are chronically absent. Red means more than 30% of students in that grade are missing too much school. DELA's early grades and DCHS's 9th grade are the pressure points.
The days that broke the pattern -- crashes, perfect days, and the moments that demand explanation. Sorted by impact.
These are the numbers KIPP Delta reports. KBC leads the district at 96.9%. BCPS holds steady at 95.7%. DELA and DCHS carry the weight of chronic absence.
In Part 2, we ask: are they real?
Continue to Part 2: The Phantom Present