Attendance Matters

In 2024-25, District 230 prioritized improving attendance as one of its Strategic Framework goals. The previous year, roughly 20% of D230 students were considered chronically absent, meaning they were absent 18 or more school attendance days that year. The goal is for 10% or fewer of our students to be chronically absent.

Strong attendance is one of the most important factors related to academic and social-emotional success. Students who are considered chronically absent are at a far greater risk for failing grades, may exhibit difficulty maintaining positive relationships, and are more likely to drop out of school. Our efforts to promote better attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism have included the launch of our Attendance Matters campaign, the release of quarterly Attendance Progress Reports, the development of attendance interventions tailored to students’ particular circumstances, and attendance policy changes that took effect in 2025-26. These efforts have reestablished clear expectations for good attendance and provided reasonable guardrails for excessive absences when there is no valid cause. As a result of these efforts, in two short years we have seen a substantial decrease in the chronic absenteeism rate across the district.