LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County School District leaders are concerned about student absences this year, despite seeing improvements from previous years.
While the number of absences is down compared to last year, district officials say it still isn't low enough. The issue has persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic.
WATCH | Here's what the district is doing about it:
State education leaders report that chronic absenteeism peaked at nearly 40% in 2022 after COVID-19. District leaders say by prioritizing attendance and implementing intentional and targeted supports and strategies, they've seen a reduction in chronic absenteeism for every student group.
"Last year, we reduced our chronic absenteeism rate by 4.4 percentage points. It's down, not where we want it to be in any way, shape or form, but it is down to 26.9%," Ebert said during the State of the District address.
District officials say more still needs to be done.
During Thursday's school district meeting, the focus was on expanding the current work being done to continue to re-engage students and families.
This includes the recruitment of volunteers who help with getting students to campus.
"We are capitalizing on Superintendent Ebert's launch of the Bright Futures initiative during the State of the District address at the end of, well, that last month, to recruiting new community partners to join us in the work to promote positive attendance habits," a district representative said during Thursday's meeting. "We also are still prioritizing resources and home visits for our 12th-grade students and their families to support their efforts towards graduation."
District leaders say they hope to keep seeing a downward trend in the number of absences and hope to spark real change in the community.
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