District records show chronic absenteeism fell from 51.4% to 34.48% over two school years, with the current rate at 21%. School officials credit community partnerships and efforts to address student needs.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - Lynn Community Middle School has substantially reduced chronic absenteeism over the past two years, with the rate falling further during the current school year, according to attendance data confirmed by Las Cruces Public Schools.

District records show that 51.4% of Lynn students were chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year. That rate declined to 36.93% in 2024-25 and 34.48% in 2025-26 — a reduction of nearly 17 percentage points, or approximately 33%, over two years. As of Monday, Oct. 26, the school's current chronic absenteeism rate was 21%, according to LCPS.

The improvement was highlighted during the Oct. 20 Board of Education meeting, when board President Pamela Cort praised the school's efforts to address barriers that keep students from attending regularly.

"Lynn needs to be commended for that," Cort said. "That's a huge drop in chronic absenteeism."

Cort cited different attendance figures during the meeting, reporting rates of 42.5%, 32% and 19.4% for the same three school years. In response to questions from Organ Mountain News, district spokesperson Kelly Jameson provided the figures from Lynn's State Attendance Improvement Plan and confirmed the current 21% rate, which she said was based on the district's weekly attendance reporting.

Jameson said she did not know the source of the figures Cort presented.

Chronic absenteeism generally means missing at least 10% of the school year, including both excused and unexcused absences. For a typical 180-day school year, that amounts to 18 or more missed days. Persistent absenteeism can affect academic performance, student engagement and a school's ability to provide consistent instruction.

Community partnerships help address attendance barriers

Cort shared Lynn's progress after attending a meeting of the school's site-based leadership team earlier that day. The meeting brought students, educators and community members together to examine why students miss school and identify ways to improve attendance.

She described an interactive session in which students helped identify barriers and propose solutions. The discussion included transportation, school safety, connections with trusted adults and opportunities to make school more engaging through friendships, electives and other activities.

Jameson said the district could not attribute the improvement to any single intervention but pointed to Lynn's longstanding role as a community school.

The school regularly gathers input from students, staff, parents and community members to identify barriers to attendance and understand their underlying causes, she said.

Among the resources available to Lynn students and families are partnerships with New Mexico State University's School of Social Work, a student resource room offering clothing, shoes and personal hygiene products, food assistance, counseling and restorative practices intended to strengthen school climate and students' sense of belonging.

The approach allows the school to identify challenges directly affecting its students and develop responses based on their needs.

Cort praised that collaborative work during the board meeting, particularly the students' involvement in identifying problems and recommending solutions.

"They are removing some of those barriers," Cort said. "Do they still exist? Yes."

Transportation and safety concerns remain

Among the barriers students identified were transportation difficulties and bullying. Cort said some students feel unsafe walking to school but live too close to qualify for district-provided bus transportation.

In response to questions from OMN, Jameson said the LCPS Transportation Department had not recently received requests to review or address transportation or safety concerns involving Lynn students, including those living within the school's established walking zone.

However, she pointed to a recent transportation adjustment made for students attending Picacho Middle School after similar concerns were raised.

The district added bus stops along Picacho Avenue between Valley Drive and Motel Boulevard to improve student safety, Jameson said.

At Lynn, LCPS has also worked with the city of Las Cruces to evaluate traffic safety near the school.

Jameson said the district consulted with the city's engineering department about installing a four-way stop at Nevada Avenue and Walnut Street. City engineers determined that the intersection did not warrant the additional stop signs.

The city previously installed green bike lanes near Lynn, extending along Nevada Avenue toward Triviz Drive, and added chicanes — roadway features designed to slow vehicles by requiring drivers to navigate slight changes in direction — along Nevada as traffic-calming measures.

District to update transportation handbook

Jameson also acknowledged that the district's transportation handbook may contain outdated language regarding student eligibility for bus service.

LCPS contracts with STS of New Mexico for student transportation. Jameson said the company's routing system is configured to follow state requirements when assigning students to bus routes.

However, she said a recently updated section of the district's transportation handbook may have inadvertently retained language that does not accurately reflect applicable state statutes.

The district plans to correct that language.

New Mexico law establishes minimum distances for regular school bus routes and allows exceptions involving hazardous walking conditions. Those provisions can be particularly relevant for students who live near their schools but must navigate potentially unsafe routes.

While the district has not received recent transportation safety requests involving Lynn, the concerns raised during the school's leadership meeting illustrate the importance of student input in identifying obstacles that may not otherwise reach district administrators.

For Lynn, the latest attendance numbers offer an encouraging measure of progress, even as school leaders continue working to understand and address the challenges that keep some students out of the classroom.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.