Coupeville Schools Aim to Raise Attendance, Improve Student Outcomes

Coupeville School District leaders outlined a strategy at a November 21 board meeting to address attendance that has fallen well below pre pandemic levels. District officials framed the effort as essential to improving standardized test performance and overall student outcomes, and set an ambitious goal of increasing district wide attendance by 10 percent.

At the center of the plan are multi tiered systems of support designed to catch problems early and connect families to resources. The district will prioritize early intervention, reach out to families after three absences, and work to remove common barriers to school attendance, including transportation, health concerns, and family care responsibilities. Leaders also emphasized changes to instruction to make classrooms more engaging and supportive of consistent attendance.

Officials presented recent attendance data showing the gaps that emerged during and after the pandemic, noting that improved attendance correlates with higher scores on state standardized tests. Board members expressed support for the plan and urged broader community collaboration to meet the targets. The district’s approach depends on coordination with families, health providers, nonprofit organizations, and local transportation services to address needs that extend beyond the classroom.

The initiative carries clear public health and equity implications. Chronic absence is linked to missed vaccinations, delayed routine care, and reduced access to school based health and mental health services. For students facing unstable housing, food insecurity, or caregiving responsibilities, attendance barriers are often symptoms of deeper social and economic challenges. By focusing on barrier removal and family outreach, the district seeks to reduce disparities that have widened for underserved students since the pandemic.

For Island County residents, the plan matters beyond test scores. Improved attendance supports safer school environments, steadier funding streams tied to enrollment, and more reliable delivery of school based supports that families depend on. It also requires investments in community level services, including consistent healthcare access and dependable transportation, which have policy implications for county health and human services and for local transit planning.

Success will depend on sustained partnerships and resources. District leaders urged community members to engage, noting that classroom changes alone will not close attendance gaps without coordinated support. If the district can restore attendance toward pre pandemic levels, officials say students could see measurable academic gains and more equitable access to the health and social services that schools can provide.