MPUSD pilot program have seen a drop in chronic absenteeism

MARINA, Calif. (KION-TV): Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is looking to crack the code to preventing chronic absenteeism.

They've turned to a pilot program called "EveryDay Labs" and so far have seen some success.

"It allows you very easy access to know how is attendance going at a site, at a district level," said Alan Crawford, Director of Student Support, Safety and Prevention at MPUSD. "In the past, it felt a lot more challenging and it required downloading an excel sheet and really moving columns around."

Crawford said the the web based program tracks down students who are absent.

"A really important part of the work is just being clear where we are and what are the trends?, said Crawford. "Are students missing more days on Monday's and Friday's? this program makes it really easy for us to do that."

The pilot program also offers resources to families who have children experiencing chronic absenteeism.

"Constant outreach where families can interact with, kinda a chat box that they have to identity barriers that they're experiencing," said Crawford. "And connect those families to the resources that we already have."

According to MPUSD, all five schools where the pilot program is implemented in Marina saw decreases in chronic absenteeism between November and December of last year. During the 2022 - 2023 school year, the rate of chronic absenteeism was at 26.9%

The current chronic absenteeism rate for all of MPUSD is 16.07%. MPUSD said there's multiple contributing factors to absenteeism.

"After the pandemic and post pandemic, I think there's still concern about health-related issues," said Donnie Everett, Assistant Superintendent for MPUSD. "And being very cautious, I also think economic hardship also plays a factor, rather than be transportation challenges, insecure housing."

To help with homeless families, MPUSD helped launch an overnight safe parking program in Seaside. They're currently identifying families who will participate in that program.

MPUSD staff said they will train staff to use the program for the schools in Monterey and Seaside.