25% of CCSD students chronically absent

About 25% of Carson City students were considered chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year, which is down from a peak of about 40% in the past three years, but school district officials say the numbers are nowhere near where they need to be.

“There’s a lot of opportunity there for improvement,” said Dr. Ricky Medina, director of accountability and assessment. “It’s a challenge that the school district’s going to have to overcome, but at the same time, we’re going to need help from the parents and the community.”

Carson City School District’s attendance rates before the pandemic already were tracking in the low teens, Medina, but they worsened as COVID-19 presented.

There are some challenges with excused absences and what counts toward a chronic absence has made it difficult — excused medical notes or for religious observances, which became effective July 1 with Assembly Bill 264, for example.

“One of the things they identified a few years back was that when kids missed 10% or more of the school year, it doesn’t matter what they’re missing for … it sets them up to struggle later on in their education as well as later on in life,” Medina said.

In the latest Nevada School Performance Framework Star Ratings report, Nevada’s schools lowered their total rate by 1.1 percentage point from last year to 34.9%. The state Department of Education reported 418 schools decreased their chronic absenteeism rates.

Carson City School District, with an enrollment of approximately 7,200 and about 1,800 students chronically absent this year, has had five schools improve their rates by 10% since the pandemic, Medina said.

Megan Newman, reengagement specialist for the district, is responsible for targeting the population of students who continually miss their classes. While she focuses on all sites, she receives help with Carson High School’s dedicated attendance interventionist Brenda Ramirez.

“Whether they’re excused or unexcused, I’m trying to reconnect them with the laws of academic time,” Newman said. “There are some students that can miss half the school year and it doesn’t affect them. They can still come to school and knock out A’s and B’s. … But right now, some of the messaging I’m putting out there is we need your child in school every day. it’s important they get here.”

One of Newman’s successful strategies is to remind families that most chronically absent kids are missing about one day every two weeks, and that this can add up quickly.

“That seems to click with a lot of people,” she said. “If I’m a parent, I’m not somebody where I don’t want to read a five-page article about attendance to get to the meat of the matter. Putting a number to somebody of ‘one day every two weeks,’ they just think it’s no big deal. But having that conversation about transportation or bus schedules … what about, ‘What are your struggles getting your child to school? Let’s make a plan for somebody else to provide transportation,’ and they seem to be receptive.”

Most don’t even realize one or two occasional days quickly turn into that 10% figure over time, Newman said.

“Sometimes people don’t realize the days add up,” Medina said. “It’s like overeating. If you do it once in a while, you eat something unhealthy and you do it once in a while, it’s fine, but slowly you realize, oh, now I’ve gained a lot of weight.”

Educators say children and teens who attend school daily are more likely to develop strong social skills and beneficial routines. Newman said it helps to “address the whole package” asking students about their daily routines rather than their pattern of absences.

“Some of the ninth graders I’ve talked to look at me like, ‘What are you doing here? Mind your own business, call my mom,’” she said. “But I’ve interacted with some seniors who have already turned 18, and I’ve been able to tell them, ‘You’re an adult now, you can make your own decisions but that doesn’t mean it’s the right decision to make,’ and I’ve connected it back to employment. I know a lot of businesses in this area have a hard time finding reliable employees right now.”

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong, who has championed services for youth in the community to help them avoid a path leading to crime, told the Appeal students enjoy accountability through the services the school district and local leaders provide.

“Our schools are safest when kids are in the learning environment and they’re learning in a social environment,” Furlong said. “I was very pleased during a recent health department meeting where the schools reported they were on top of truancies and absences because in the past it had taken so long to identify these kids. Jumping on top of this so early in the school year is critical.”

Furlong said from January to July this year, 216 teens were arrested for assaults and liquor violations. While most are booked in and out quickly, several remain jailed long-term for violent offenses, he said. This becomes a “true burden” on Carson City resources and professionals when they fall away from in-class instruction.

Newman said if families are struggling to ensure their students are attending school, they’re welcome to contact their school at any time for support.

“We have a ton of resources, even if they just go by their front office, and they’ll be pointed in the right direction,” she said. “I think the important thing is for people to know they don’t have to navigate this by themselves.”

Medina said the school district is asking for the community’s support in encouraging students to go to school every day, too.

“Whatever folks can do to support attendance is very much appreciated,” he said. “If you’re a business owner and kids are at your place of business during the day, ask them why they’re not in school. Anything helps. We need your support as well.”

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2022-23 CARSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT RATES OF CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Data provided by the Carson City School District