photo by: Matt Resnick | Journal-World

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez discusses truancy prevention and intervention during a Lawrence school board meeting on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.

The Lawrence school board spent a considerable portion of Monday evening’s board meeting reviewing attendance-related data, while also discussing ways to combat chronic absenteeism and truancy; issues that have plagued the district the past several years.

Data presented to board members showed that the highest rates of those considered chronically absent are most applicable to the district’s secondary students, but the report also indicated that attendance-rates have been slow to recover throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — with superintendent Anthony Lewis calling it a nationwide problem.

Pam Weigand, Douglas County director of Criminal Justice Services, told the board of the county’s truancy prevention program, which offers students individualized mentoring support through a referral program. Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez was on hand to discuss the parameters of an agreement between the district, county, and other agencies that allows for the sharing of truancy-related data — calling it a “very robust and collaborative way of working,” but added that referrals to the program are often intertwined with the criminal justice system, and that “once you’re in the system it follows you around for the rest of your life.”

“We don’t want them in our system,” Valdez said. “One thing I say over and over again is that I’m trying to reduce the criminal justice footprint; so this is all prevention and intervention. Once we think we may have a child who may be in need of care, that is when we intervene.”

While discussing the agreement, known as a Memorandum of Understanding, Valdez said that the number of entities who are legally able to obtain the student-related data are limited. A truancy prevention group that holds monthly meetings was formed in September 2022 that is composed of the school district, Department of Children and Families, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, and Douglas County Youth Services.

“The last thing we want is information about their situation, or anything leading to absenteeism shared with anyone it doesn’t have to be,” she said, calling it a more streamlined process than it had been previously. “The fact of the matter is, we have all of these great partners who really want to help our kids to stay in school and be successful, and encourage that without getting a referral to our office for intervention.”

Valdez said that the data will hopefully pinpoint “the things affecting” students, which she said included “the aftermath of COVID to school violence to gun violence.”

“All those things are stressing our kiddos out,” she said. “So I think this will be a very good group to come together and work to keep our kids in school and out of the criminal justice system. And whatever we do to support that, I am 100 percent on board with.”

Cynthia Johnson, the district’s director of inclusion, engagement, and belonging, said that the district’s vision won’t be fully realized “unless students attend school and are actively engaged in the learning process.” She added that absentee-rates are a strong indicator of future success, and that prevention and early intervention are critical to addressing the issue.

“Attendance is a critical investment,” Johnson said. “It will take an entire district to truly decrease the amount of chronic (absenteeism). If it’s left unaddressed in Lawrence public schools, we already know that it will cause a greater damage.”

Chronic absenteeism applies to a student that misses 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason; a figure that is equivalent to a month of missed class-time for schools on a 180-day school calendar.

Jennifer Georgie, the district’s lead student and parent support facilitator, told the board of adverse outcomes for chronically absent students — including sub-par reading and standardized testing scores, as well as an increased likelihood for suspensions and higher dropout rates.

In other business, the board:

• Approved in its consent agenda a bid of $117,895 for the installation of two shade structures at the Free State High School soccer field.