What One District's Data Mining Did For Chronic Absence [NPR.org]

Samantha Sangenito 5/31/164:00 AM

Mel Atkins has spent most of his life with Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan. He graduated from Ottawa Hills High, where he played baseball. But his real love was bowling. He says he's bowled 22 perfect games.

He's been a teacher and principal in the city's public schools. And now he works for the district, overseeing just about everything related to students.

One more thing you need to know about him: Mel Atkins is a number-cruncher.

Three years ago, the superintendent came to him with a question: Does Grand Rapids have an issue with chronic absenteeism?

"I don't think I'd even heard of the definition at the time," Atkins recalls. He looked it up.

Chronic absence is defined as a student missing more than 10 percent of the school year — which works out to just two days a month.

[For more of this story, written by Elissa Nadworny, go to http://www.npr.org/sections/ed...-for-chronic-absence]

Add Comment

Comments (1)

Newest · Oldest · Popular

Pamela Denise LongMember

Thank you for sharing this story. I really appreciate how this district and the data manager/analyst stayed on top of "mining the data" by revisiting the issue after the first round of intervention was unsuccessful. The community engagement and collective impact imagery was a pleasure to imagine!

5/31/161:24 PM

<ul id="{%=id%}ButtonGroup" class="button-group h-popup-buttons even-button-group even-1">
    <li id="{%=id%}Okay_buttonContainer"><a id="{%=id%}Okay" href="javascript:void(0);" class="button success no-margin-bottom h-alert-modal-ok-button" role="button">OK</a><script type="text/javascript">
        (function() {
            function {%=id%}Okay_click(event, data) {
            {%=id%}Popup.hide();
        }
        
                $('#{%=id%}Okay').on('click', {%=id%}Okay_click);
        })();
    </script></li></ul><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="close-reveal-modal" aria-label="Close Modal">&#215;</a><div class="last-modal-focus focus-utility-element" tabindex="0"></div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
        (function() {
            {%=id%}Popup = new SS.Popup.ModalPopup('{%=id%}');
        })();
    </script>

Skip to main content

Add Comment

Membership Required

Remove From Your Block List

Manage Follow Preferences

Block

Please wait...