The Natchitoches Parish School Board received promising updates during its April 1 meeting as the district’s war on truancy shows measurable success. According to a quarterly report from the Department of Student Services, the district has made major strides in reducing absenteeism, improving daily attendance, and identifying students at risk — progress that could soon be recognized as a statewide model.
Presented by Mrs. Felicia Pinkney, Director of Student Services, the data compared student attendance from August through late February and revealed a district-wide 3% drop in students classified as truant. In Louisiana, a student is considered truant after accumulating five or more unexcused absences in a term — a metric that can quickly compound and prove difficult to reverse.
“Truancy is one of the more challenging areas we face, but we’re making headway,” Pinkney said. “Schools are doing a great job implementing attendance recovery programs, which we’ll continue offering through May. We’re optimistic that we’ll meet — or even exceed — our year-end attendance goals.”
A major highlight of the report centered on a new measure being emphasized by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE): average days missed per student. While districts previously focused on average daily attendance, the state now pays close attention to how many instructional days each student misses annually.
In January, LDOE reported that Natchitoches students averaged 14.2 missed days during the 2023–2024 school year — a concerning figure. However, through targeted interventions and early identification of at-risk students, the district has already reduced that number to 8.1 days as of March 31. The state goal is 12.
“This reduction — a drop of over 35% — is monumental,” Superintendent Dr. Grant Eloi noted. “To be down to 8.1 days per student when the state target is 12, and we still have several weeks left in the school year, is remarkable. Some other districts proud of their progress are sitting at 10. I expect we’ll be highlighted as a model for the state.”
In addition, the report showed encouraging year-to-date average daily attendance data. The district is currently reporting 92.83% attendance, up from around 91% the previous year and its highest level in the past three years. A month-by-month graph revealed that attendance outpaced previous years in every month except January — when a spike in illnesses affected numbers statewide.
The positive improvements are a direct result of the team effort of the student services department and their collaboration with school administrators and its multi-pronged approach that includes improved data tracking, earlier interventions, and enhanced communication with families. Attendance recovery opportunities have also expanded, allowing students to make up missed time and stay on track academically.
Perhaps most notably, the number of students with excessive absences has sharply declined:
Students with 40 or more unexcused absences dropped from around 75–80 last year to just 22 students as of February 27.
Overall students with 40+ total days missed (excused or unexcused) dropped from 130 last year to approximately 60 this year — a more than 50% reduction.
District leaders were clear that while some of the improvement can be attributed to better data cleaning and reporting, the bulk of the progress stems from real change on campuses and in student support strategies.
The school board is expected to receive a final update in June, once data from March through May is cleaned and compiled. For now, officials are encouraged by the turnaround and confident that Natchitoches Parish is leading the way in showing how schools can tackle chronic absenteeism with persistence and innovation.
“This work matters because every day a student is in class is a day closer to graduation and long-term success,” Pinkney emphasized. “We’re not done yet, but we’re on the right path.”