Both disciplinary incidents and chronic absenteeism are seeing significant drops within USD 253 Emporia Public Schools.
That’s according to information shared through the district’s latest quarterly strategic planning update shared during the USD 253 Board of Education’s recent meeting Wednesday evening. According to the data, discipline incidents have steadily declined across all grade levels between August and October.
Dr. Judy Stanley, District Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, says the decline has much to do with the district’s wider focus on the Capturing Kids Heart model which went districtwide last year.
Stanley says the district’s incorporation of “soft starts” which begins each school day with activities for students and “eases them into the learning process” has also played a significant role in the decline.
Also in decline across the district has been chronic absenteeism specifically for Kindergarten through 9th grade and 12th grade between 2023-24 and the current school year. According to Stanley, this is an “encouraging” sign the district’s efforts over the past year to further engage students has paid off.
As mentioned, the chronic absenteeism and disciplinary data were portions of the district’s strategic planning update which can be found in its entirety on the district’s website USD253.org under the BoardDocs page. We also have a link to the BoardDocs page available below.
Click here to view the district’s quarterly strategic plan update.