Improvements to address chronic absenteeism and suspension rates will be among the focuses for Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District in 2026 following discussions during a Board of Education meeting on Jan. 12.

The meeting was an overview of the NCLUSD’s performance in the 2025 California Dashboard, a mid-year Local Control Accountability Plan review and other updates across the district.

Chronic absenteeism and suspension rate earned a green indicator, which meant for a high performance, in the state's dashboard in 2024. Both categories saw an improvement from 2023 as chronic absenteeism was at nearly 10%, a close to 5% decline from the year before, and suspension rate at 3.7%, which is a 0.6% decline. However, there was a significant decline in performance in 2025.

The district saw a 5.7% increase in chronic absences at 15.6%. Orestimba High and Yolo Middle recorded the highest rates of chronic absenteeism within the district last school year at 22.4% and 16.4%, respectively. 

Heather Vargas, the director of curriculum & instruction for the district, said the chronic absences are high amongst homeless students (42.4%) and students with disabilities (22.6%). “This is still a critical risk factor affecting academic outcomes across multiple goals, it’s something that we’ll continue to work on as a district,” she said.

As the district strives to address the matter, Vargas said that the district has recorded a 6.4% in chronic absences as of Jan 4, 2026, with it mostly coming from 12th graders and transitional kindergartners. She added that TK has dealt with students being sick, while seniors have “one foot in and one foot out of door,” alluding that they’re ready to graduate.

Vargas said suspension rates remain under 5% district-wide and dropped from nearly 11% to 3.1% at West Side Valley High School, a site that offers alternative education programs designed for students who’re failing academically. She added there have been discussions of offering alternatives to suspension, but keeping schools safe is a priority.

While the district focused on addressing both categories, there have been improvements within  its academics and English Language Learners. Enrollment for Advanced Placement classes went up by 23.24%, it was previously at 14% baseline. The graduation rate increased from 93.9% to 97.4% in 2025, with students with disabilities having a graduation rate close to 87%, up from nearly 80%. Dual Language Immersion had 547 students enrolled last year, exceeding the initial target of 530.

There was 19% improvement to Long-Term English Learner reclassification, which also exceeded NCLUSD’s targeted goal. Additionally, the district’s English Learner progress improved from low to high, with Hurd Burrington Elementary and Hunt Elementary improving to very high.