Caldwell’s Attendance Turnaround
One Family’s View of Caldwell’s 10-Point Drop in Chronic Absenteeism
The numbers tell one story. A family tells another.
Caldwell Exempted Village School District, a member of the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network since 2019, recently achieved the highest reduction in chronic absenteeism across the entire network: 10.3 percentage points.
But behind that statistic is something harder to measure: The transformation of one family.
From chronically absent to highest in the district
For two consecutive years, the children in this family had been chronically absent. Through sustained outreach, the district kept showing up, even when the family could not. “They had improved so much,” says Jeannie Yontz, Caldwell’s Director of School Improvement. The children of that original family now hold the highest attendance ratings in the district.
“It’s the entire community’s efforts, and it makes you proud to be part of the school district,” continued Yontz.
Jeannie Yontz, Caldwell’s Director of School Improvement
What makes this work?
The Stay in the Game! Attendance Network, managed by Battelle Education, supports more than 200 districts and 550,000 students across Ohio. The network’s goal: By 2030, 90% of Ohio students will attend school 90% or more of the time.
That goal requires more than policy. It requires the kind of persistent, relationship-based effort Caldwell demonstrated.
When first graders in Caldwell achieved excellent attendance, the district celebrated with a virtual visit from Joel Bitonio, offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns. Students saw, in real time, that their effort mattered to people beyond their school walls.
This story was originally reported by the Cleveland Browns Foundation, a founding partner of the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network.
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