Burbio School Tracker 11/11: "Remarkably Impressive"

1. Burbio's foundational datasets include millions of pages of K-12 board meetings and strategic plans, and our work with clients uses finely tuned prompts to identify key signals from this data. One example is chronic absenteeism, a widespread challenge for districts and one that involves solutions from providers across a range of initiatives. First, a chart showing the percent of districts who have mentioned the term at least once in the last year, by district size:

Below are some examples of signals covering a broad spectrum of the K-12 experience:  

• Newington School District, CT, runs a mental health services program that reports 77% of students with chronic absenteeism show improvement after involvement in the program.
• Tri-Valley Central School District, NY, has a district-wide MTSS program addressing chronic absenteeism, with a particular focus on Tier 3 students.
• Utica City School District, NY outlines a range of support services including an academic support center for students in grades 7-12, expanded CTE programs, an extended day program, and math and literacy interventions.  
• Ames Community School District, IA, reported a 9.3% drop in chronic absenteeism in the last academic year, and the Superintendent highlighted principals’ use of an attendance dashboard to monitor absenteeism.
• Chaffey Joint Union High School District, CA cites academic programs such as eSports, Mock Trial, and Academic Decathlon as tools to improve attendance and foster connectedness among students with low attendance rates.
• Craven County Schools, NC, and Malden Public Schools, MA, are among many districts describing targeted interventions such as home visits and family communication about the importance of attendance.
• Hazel Park Schools, MI, used Ozobots as an attendance incentive for the district's summer school program.

2.  With the advancement of AI across K-12 education, we are noting more school boards including variations of an "AI Update" as part of their regular meeting cadence. These updates cover a wide range of formats and subjects. This week, we highlight some representative examples:

• Several district leaders from the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, WI, presented an AI update to the board covering implementation, staff support, professional development, and an AI tools update, along with an explanation of the difference between Embedded AI and Generative AI.
• At Fayette County Public Schools, GA, the Assistant Superintendent presented an overview of district AI policies. A high school classroom teacher, "shared their experiences with AI in the classroom, highlighting  both opportunities for improving instruction and efficiency, as well as risks such as academic dishonesty and over-reliance on AI."
• As part of a recent board update Decatur City School District, AL, featured a "remarkably impressive video" created using NotebookLM that incorporates the last six months of board meeting notes.
• At Ohio County Schools, WV, the discussion involved an AI safety initiative "addressing issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) use in schools, particularly inappropriate applications, and developing an effective policy to manage these concerns."  An upcoming meeting on the subject involves local law enforcement and features discussion of how other districts manage these issues.
• The Avon Grove School District, PA, meeting is representative of many AI updates we see as it features a discussion of specific vendor tools that have recently been added in the district, and a summary of what grade levels have access to each.

3. For Burbio's Signals Tracker a key exercise is developing prompts that generate appropriate insights, which often involves highly specific tools and tactics. Here are some examples of signals from the security industry from recent board meetings:

• Chelmsford Public Schools, PA,  is standardizing its visitor management system and piloting a new Emergency Notification System.
• Putnam County School System, TN, is replacing a fire alarm at an elementary school.
• Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools, OH, is completing the purchase of video surveillance and door access control services.
• Los Alamos Public Schools, NM, is discussing the purchase of new radios for all school sites.
• Community ISD, TX, authorizes implementing weapons detection systems, a K-9 unit, and additional security personnel in collaboration with local law enforcement.
• St Charles Parish Public Schools, LA, has added wearable panic buttons for staff.

• Kern High School District, CA, is looking to purchase online supplemental literacy materials.
• Warren County School District, TN, is soliciting bids to fabricate theming areas within their new CTE center.
• Goodbuy Purchasing Program, TX, is looking for catalog contracts for audio/visual equipment.
• Coastal Plains RESA, GA, has issued an RFP for Learning Management Software.
• Minooka Community CCSD 201, IL, is soliciting bids for a chiller and air handler replacement project.
• Durham Public Schools, NC, has issued an RFP for Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Physical Therapy (PT) services.