Superintendent: district daily attendance 91.2%, 'regular-attender' rate up to preliminary 70.31%

Superintendent Living briefed the board on attendance and interim-assessment results, saying the district recorded a strong average daily attendance rate and notable improvement on the state'reported "regular-attender" metric.

The superintendent reported an average daily attendance rate of 91.2% for the year and preliminary data showing 70.31% of students met the regular-attender threshold (90% or more of the school days), up from a preliminary 68.91% and a district goal of 67.15%. The superintendent cautioned that the 70.31% figure is preliminary and subject to state validation.

Staff also summarized Renaissance Star interim-assessment results used to monitor reading and math progress: among students who took the relevant assessments, the district reported moving roughly 6% of students out of the lowest reading level and about 10.6% out of the lowest math level; sample proficiency figures presented were about 53.2% proficient in reading and 31.2% proficient in math for tested students. Presenters and trustees discussed the complexity of the two attendance measures and how the numbers can appear counterintuitive to the public (high average daily attendance versus a smaller share meeting the 90% attendance threshold across the year).

Board members urged the district to present both metrics together and provide context for the public so community members understand progress and the difference between "in any given day" attendance (91.2%) and the regular-attender statistic (70.31%).

What happens next: staff will continue disaggregation of attendance data and refine public messaging about the district's progress on both daily attendance and regular-attender metrics.