Summit School District leaders are pledging to make attendance a key goal for the 2023-24 school year after data showed more than a third of all students were considered “chronically absent” last school year. 

Superintendent Tony Byrd, during an Aug. 17 Summit Board of Education meeting, called declining attendance in schools a “nationwide issue.” He said the district has launched a campaign to limit student absences to less than eight days for the school year. 

Chronic absences occur when a student misses more than 10% of the academic year, which usually translates to 17 or 18 days. A March report by the district found that attendance decreased across grade levels, from a rate of 91.3% in Kindergarten to 85.1% in 12th grade. 

In total, 1,339 students were considered chronically absent last school year, though the data did include students with excused absences, such as for a sport’s game or dentist’s appointment

Byrd said the district recently brought together students’ families ahead of the first day of school to create packets for elementary schoolers that contain school calendars so that they can better track their attendance. 

A district subcommittee will have a greater focus on attendance this year and district officials will conduct home visits to families of students with poor attendance. 

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Transportation to and from school, an issue that has plagued the district for years, may also improve this year and could help boost students’ attendance rates, Byrd said. 

Byrd, in his proposed 2023-24 budget, urged board of education members to approve a pay bump for bus drivers, which they unanimously voted in favor of during a June 22 board meeting. Drivers saw a roughly $5 hourly increase, rising to $28.25 per hour. 

Had drivers not received the pay increase, officials feared it would prolong a driver shortage and potentially jeopardize how many students could be guaranteed a ride. This past school year, the district was forced to consolidate an afternoon route in Dillon Valley with another route in Summit Cove due to driver shortages. 

“We’ve been working on a skeleton crew,” Transportation Manager Andrea Meyer-Pemble said in a May interview. “We have made it work, but it’s been a tough year. But that is not something that we can sustain.”

This year, the district has hired “several new bus drivers” and added two new routes, Byrd said. 

“The morale is really good,” Byrd said before thanking board members for “seeing the need there.” 

The district is also fully staffed for teachers this year. 

“That is no small thing,” Byrd said. “That is actually quite incredible in Colorado to be fully staffed in teachers.” 

Board members said these factors are reasons to be optimistic. 

“I just have a good feeling for this year,” said board member Chris Guarino. “The kids are feeling it, and I know the staff is feeling it.”