Birmingham reports stronger attendance, rolls out stricter tardy accountability and visibility proposals

School administrators told the Birmingham Community Charter High School board that student attendance is improving and that the district is tightening tardy accountability.

"We had our best month of attendance since month 2. It was 94.9," the presenter reported, and said chronic absenteeism declined from roughly 20% last year to about 15% this year — a difference the presenter estimated at about 150 students. Enrollment was reported just under 3,200 (3,198), and staff said the combination of improved attendance and enrollment will benefit revenue.

To strengthen accountability, the district has implemented a new tardy policy that places students who reach a 20‑tardy threshold on a semester‑long 'no‑go' list. Presenters said student advisory council members supported a fixed threshold to prevent students from 'gaming' the system by serving detentions repeatedly. Students and staff also recommended that detentions be visible to students and parents through a secure, password‑protected portal so families can monitor consequences.

On disciplinary outcomes, the presenter reported 31 suspensions through January this year compared with 82 at the same point last year. Board members asked for more disaggregated data by grade; staff said some data are not immediately on hand but offered to follow up.

Staff emphasized ninth‑grade orientation and support, noting that passing ninth‑grade English and math with a C or better is a strong predictor of on‑time graduation. The board did not adopt additional discipline policy changes at this meeting; next steps include implementing the portal visibility changes with appropriate privacy safeguards and providing follow‑up data by grade when available.