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Improving Student Attendance & Behaviors
Lawrence Public Schools continues to focus on student attendance as an important driver of student achievement. According to AttendanceWorks.org, chronic absenteeism or missing 10% or more of school days due to absence for any reason can translate into students having difficulty in learning to read by the third grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school.
The district’s rate of chronic absenteeism increased from 24.7% in Quarter 1, 30.4% in Quarter 2, to 33.1% in Quarter 3. By comparison, the district’s rate of chronic absenteeism for the previous two school years was 23.62% in 2020-2021 and 34.11% in 2021-2022.
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The district’s Average Daily Attendance dropped last year, from 92.3% in 2020-2021 to 90.2% in 2021-2022. It has increased slightly from last year across Quarters 1-3 of this year. It was 92.5% in Quarter 1, 91.0% in Quarter 2, and 90.8% in Quarter 3.
According to AttendanceWorks.org, absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. By sixth grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school. Attendance improves when schools engage students and parents in positive ways and provide mentors for chronically absent students.
In addition to absenteeism, student behaviors can become a barrier to learning. The district has made progress in keeping students in class and in school with the use of restorative practices.
During the first quarter of the school year, restorative practices were used in 612 of 1,018 behavior events in the elementary, middle, and high schools. In 38.2% of these behavior events, restorative practices kept students in class and in school, where they can continue to develop socialemotional skills.
During the third quarter of the school year, restorative practices were used in 782 of 949 behavior events across all school levels. In 55.3% of these behavior events, restorative practices were used instead of traditional disciplinary actions, such as in-school or out-of-school suspensions or both.
