BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During their lengthy workshop on April 10, the School Board of Alachua County heard a report on attendance trends in district schools. Board members were alarmed at the high reported rates of chronic absenteeism at Hawthorne Middle/High School, and staff members were unable to provide answers to questions about why that school’s absenteeism rates are so far out of line with the other schools in the district.
The full presentation can be reviewed here .
Goal: 95% attendance
The district’s goal is to have 95% attendance for SI (School Improvement) schools and each of the identified subgroups at the SI schools. However, the only elementary school reaching 95% is Hidden Oak, and Rawlings Elementary only averages 87.7% attendance.
The only subgroups reaching 95% attendance at SI schools are Asian students at Alachua, Idylwild, and Williams; white students at Williams; and English Language Learners at Williams.