Overview:
The Athol-Royalston Regional School District reduced its chronic absenteeism rate from 26.9% to 21.3% between fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Superintendent Matthew Ehrenworth attributed this success to consistent weekly monitoring and targeted community outreach. To support families, the district's Family and Community Center provides resources like gas cards and transportation assistance to remove barriers to regular school attendance.
ATHOL – Chronic absenteeism in the Athol-Royalston Regional School District has dropped from 26.9% in fiscal year 2025 to 21.3% in fiscal year 2026.
Superintendent Matthew Ehrenworth said Athol-Royalston was one of the few districts in the state to reduce its chronic absenteeism rate by five percentage points or more.
Ehrenworth attributed the improvement to the district’s focus on community outreach and connecting with families. He said each family faces different obstacles, and the district works with them to help remove those barriers.
“We kept attendance on our radar throughout the entire school year. Every week I meet with the principals, and every week I had them report out on their chronic absenteeism and the steps that their counselors and staff were taking to try to reengage these families and get the kids back to school,” Ehrenworth said.
When attendance concerns arise, school guidance counselors refer families to the district’s Family and Community Center for additional support.
“If it has to do with attendance, we’re reaching out to the parents, talking through with them, ‘What is the need? What is going on, and how can we help?’” said Family and Community Center Director Shirley Mitchell. “Our goal is to connect them with local resources, trying to address the barriers that are in the way.”
She said transportation is one of the biggest challenges families face in getting students to school. The Family and Community Center has helped families with gas cards through grant funding, connected them with neighbors who could assist with transportation, supplied alarm clocks and even made morning reminder calls before students leave for school.
Mitchell said she hopes the district will be able to develop more flexible transportation options for families, potentially by working with churches and other community partners.
“We realize when kids are present that they’re getting more. There’s something about being here and getting them set up in a routine fashion that’s going to pay off in their adult life too,” she said.
Mitchell said every family’s situation is different, and the Family and Community Center works with each to identify the support needed.
One example involved a student who used a wheelchair after a serious accident. After the student’s grandparent reached out for help, the Family and Community Center worked with the Athol Lions Club and other community partners to build a temporary wheelchair ramp so the student could return to school.
“We want to listen, try to understand and then try to figure out something that would help the family,” Mitchell said.
In August 2024, Royalston Community School was recognized as one of 10 schools across the state named as Attendance All-Star schools for greatly reducing its chronic student absenteeism between March 1, 2023 and March 1, 2024. According to information provided by school, chronic absenteeism dropped from 40.6% in the 2021-2022 school year to 7.3% in the 2023-2024 school year. The school was presented with a golden basketball signed by members of the 18-time NBA champion Boston Celtics to mark the achievement.