T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshalltown Community School District Director of Instruction Shauna Smith and Attendance Coordinator Elizabeth Harris-Medina tell the school board about the progress made with addressing chronic absenteeism. Compared to last school year at the same time, four percent less students are chronically absent.

The rate of chronic absenteeism in the Marshalltown Community School District has improved from the last school year.

During an update given to the school board at the regular Monday meeting, members were told 28 percent or 1,629 of 5,920 students were chronically absent in the winter of 2023-24. This winter, 24 percent, or 1,411 of 5,829 students have been chronically absent.

“If you look at the numbers, those are over 200 students that are not chronically absent,” said District Attendance Coordinator Elizabeth Harris-Medina. “That is really great. I am so thankful for the talented people I work with who work with our students and families and make sure we have resources for our kids to attend school.”

She told the board members the winter counts are state numbers, which differ from district numbers as the state counts all absences, and the district only counts unexcused absences. The district does report all absences to the state, regardless of the reason. However, MCSD’s policy does not count excused absences, such as for illness or a family emergency. The reason for the difference is Harris-Medina said kids go on trips and get the flu during this time of year, but school officials know where those students are.

“We really want to focus on those unexcused absences because that’s where we see the danger,” she said.

Family trips

Trips that Marshalltown families take was a subject which drew a lot of questions from board members. Harris-Medina revealed 418 trips were taken last semester.

“We have a transnational population, which is so amazing,” she said. “Families from all over the world who have a connection back home and they travel back and forth. These trips could be a couple days or a month or two months. We’re still working on a way to support those families and support the trips happening, but at the same time we don’t want kids to miss content.”

School officials need to know about the pending trip five days beforehand. Then the student is given five excused days, anything longer is considered unexcused. If the trip takes longer than five days, it is up to the parents to educate the child during the absence so they do not miss a lot of content. It depends on where the student is academically, what content he or she will miss and the responsibility of education placed on the parents.

Director of Instruction Shauna Smith said it has been a hot topic between herself and Harris-Medina, and it will be something they will continue to discuss until a policy is in place.

“We’ve had discussions about the attendance policy and whether or not the statement of allowing five excused days is appropriate, whether it is counterproductive when you’re thinking through the lens of attendance,” she said.

Superintendent Theron Schutte said the challenge is trying to be respectful of the family need to be with relatives.

“We’re continually trying to figure out how to find a balance in both respecting and appreciating family and cultural needs, but at the end of day, our end goal is for these kids to all become proficient and then to excel,” he said. “As Shauna said, it continues to be an ongoing discussion and challenge. The only way it’s going to get better is to work collaboratively with families and businesses and try to figure out how we can help people.”

Absences

In the process of gathering information on chronic absences, Harris-Medina said the number is higher amongst older students. The number of truant students is also low for younger students. For this semester, a student would be considered truant if 20 percent of the semester, or 17 days during the spring, are missed. Harris-Medina said they turn truant students over to the county attorney who will determine legal action, as required by state law.

Harris-Medina shared the common reasons MCSD students are absent. Right now, she said a lot of students have Influenza A, so illness is one of the frequently given reasons. There are also transportation, mental health of the student or parent, family emergencies and a parent’s view of attending school in a post-COVID world.

Another common reason is appointments. She said there are not a lot of medical options in Marshalltown, so parents regularly take their children to Iowa City or Des Moines to see a provider. One reason which Harris-Medina said makes her upset is a lack of communication from the parents.

“There are so many absences that happen and the parent does not communicate. If they’re sick, please, please, please contact the school,” she said.

To help combat chronic absenteeism, Harris-Medina said she has implemented attendance tiers. The first is applied to all students and are strategies to encourage attendance. This is done through actions such as providing a positive school climate, having attendance celebrations and sending parents a monthly attendance message.

“Parents sometimes don’t know how much their child has missed, and that’s something I want to prioritize,” Harris-Medina said.

The second tier is used for students who begin to show signs of attendance problems. The tier is meant to address the concerns early.

“We see a lot of high school students have a lot of chronic absenteeism,” she said. “So, we are looking more into is it the curriculum? Do they need a different type of learning environment? Do they have anxiety? Do they not want to show up to class?”

Some actions include sending a letter to parents once 10 percent of school days in a semester, or eight days in the spring, have been missed. If a student misses 15 percent of the school days, a mandatory meeting is called. The name of the student is also included in a list sent to the county attorney.

The third tier is for intensive support for students with significant attendance problems. The tier is more direct and is personalized to help the student succeed. Some actions include parents being called for a meeting with school staff and an individual attendance plan made. The county attorney determines legal action for the third tier situations, but Harris-Medina said that is a last resort.

MCSD ABSENCES

Grade Number of students

Preschool 55

Kindergarten 84

First 80

Second 56

Third 47

Fourth 53

Fifth 53

Sixth 51

Seventh 77

Eighth 102

Ninth 125

Tenth 162

Eleventh 187

Twelfth 166

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com