Attendance Awareness Month – EPS Remains Committed to Increasing Daily Attendance and Decreasing Chronic Absenteeism

From the Office of the Superintendent

William D. Hart

September in National Attendance Month and the Everett Public Schools (EPS) is looking to continue the success of its deliberate and consistent efforts to increase daily student attendance across all grade levels.

Under the direction of an Attendance Committee, attendance during the 2024-2025 school year climbed to 91.8 percent, while chronic absenteeism decreased by 4.5 percent over the previous year. Assembling a dedicated team to monitor and boost attendance was a critical initiative for Superintendent William D. Hart upon his appointment in December of 2023. “When we think about student outcomes, we need to think from the start,” the Superintendent said. “That begins with daily attendance. When students come to school every day and work with our incredible teachers and their peers, good things will follow.”

The Attendance Committee is chaired by Whittier School Principal Mike McLucas and consisted of the following individuals:

Director of Social Emotional Wellness Dr. Brian Wallace; Title I Director David Brady; Community and Family Engagement Manager Jeanette Velez; Principals Chris Barrett, Alex Naumann, and Nancy Sutera (who is now retired); Assistant Principals Jessyca Redler, Laurie Stokes, and John Sutera; Director of Tier I Literacy Audra Lessard; Guidance Counselors Regina DeSimone and Michael Engel; Family Liaison Wanda Fernandes; SEL Engagement Liaison Maria Hernandez; and Attendance Supervisors Bill Coombs, Keith Luongo, and Kevin McCarthy. In addition, parents and students had the chance to attend meetings and offer their ideas.

The Attendance Committee will hold its first meeting of 2025-2026 later this month, as it looks to build on the momentum in started last year.

During the 2022-2023 school year, the EPS had a daily attendance rate 89.8 percent. That number climbed to 90.4 percent in 2023-2024 and to 91.8 percent in 2024-2025. At the same time, this past school year saw a 4.5 percent decrease in the number students who missed 10 percent or more of their scheduled school days, which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts defines as “chronically absent.”

Superintendent Hart credits the Attendance Committee and school leaders for emphasizing attendance and developing positive competitions and incentives for students, teachers, and classrooms that boast impressive individual and/or collective attendance rates. For example, the Keverian School, which reported a 93.7 percent attendance rate, awarded an extra gym period to classrooms with the best monthly attendance. These efforts, by extension, boost achievement as there is an abundance of data linking attendance to student outcomes.

By design, the Attendance Committee is comprised of a diverse panel of educators and professionals who collaborate to analyze the topic from every angle. “We made sure to assemble a team that can identify, and address, the multitude of reasons why a student might be missing too many school days,” said Superintendent Hart. “With everyone’s continued effort, we remain confident that our attendance rates will climb further this year.”