Weekly Superintendent Update 9.11.26

Dear Sierra Unified Community,

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and this year's national theme, “Your Presence Matters!”,  is a reminder of something simple but powerful: showing up to school every day matters. Good attendance remains one of the strongest predictors of student success, and while California is making real progress, chronic absenteeism continues to be a challenge we must tackle together.

The latest data from the California Department of Education shows our state's chronic absenteeism rate has fallen to 19.4% in 2024–25, down from a pandemic-era peak of 30% in 2021–22. That's real, encouraging progress — but the rate of improvement is slowing, and nearly one in five California students is still chronically absent, well above the pre-pandemic rate of about 12%. Statewide, students missed an average of 12.8 days of school last year.

At Sierra Unified, we know that when students are in class consistently, they learn more, build stronger connections with their peers and teachers, and are better prepared for future opportunities. On the other hand, even a few absences add up quickly. Missing just two days a month can equal nearly 20 days over the school year — that's an entire month of lost learning.

We also recognize that building strong attendance habits is a team effort. Families play a crucial role in helping students get to school on time each day, whether it's through morning routines, encouraging healthy sleep habits, or communicating with teachers when challenges arise. Our staff is here to partner with families every step of the way to support student success.

This month, you'll see reminders across our schools and social media channels about the importance of attendance, along with celebrations of the incredible commitment we see from Sierra Unified students and families. Let's keep working together to ensure that every student is in class, every day, ready to learn.

Together, every day — your presence matters. 

Measure U Updates:
•  The cafeteria HVAC Unit and Transformer were set on Wednesday 9/9
•  The system is scheduled for shutdown and energizing this coming Saturday.
•  Second job walk for the phase 3 modernization was another great turnout.  It is our hope that this will lead to competitive
    bidding for the project.
•  Our M&O team is gearing up to complete classroom moves for the first wing of construction to begin.
•  We are excited to see the largest part of the modernization project begin. We can’t wait to see our student learning spaces  
    transformed thanks to the commitment of our community.


With Sierra Mountain pride,
Dr. Lori Grace
Superintendent, Sierra Unified School District