By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Tucson Unified School District is launching a pilot program using community liaisons to address chronic absenteeism, Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo announced at a back-to-school briefing Tuesday, July 28.
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Nearly 44% of the district’s students are chronically absent — a rate among the worst in Arizona and continues to worsen.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
- Tucson USD teachers say district lax with excessive absences
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- Tucson USD chronic absenteeism worse than nearly every other district in state
Trujillo said a significant portion of those absences are parent-approved.
“So TUSD, yes, has a 44% chronic absenteeism rate. But here is probably the toughest challenge. Inside of that 44%, just about 62% of chronic absences are excused by parents,” Trujillo said.
Community liaisons to make home visits
To address the issue, the district is placing 37 community liaisons at 37 school sites. The liaisons will contact parents individually to find solutions.
“Doing home visits, going into the home, seeing what the circumstances are that are preventing parents from getting kids to school,” Trujillo said.
The goal is to give each family a single, consistent point of contact.
“The parents know the person. The person is in the community, at the school — one relationship for the parent to navigate. That can’t happen if folks are shuffling between schools,” Trujillo said.
District calls program starting point
The district acknowledges 37 liaisons cannot reach the nearly 18,000 students identified as chronically absent.
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Trujillo said the district will monitor results before deciding whether to expand.
“We’re going to be looking at metrics and hopefully seeing a return on investment so we can expand the program out to other schools,” Trujillo said.
In the same briefing, Trujillo also addressed school safety, HVAC improvements, bond renovations, and a new healthy foods initiative.
Isabela Lisco is a Report for America corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.
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