Read the full story from Minnesota Post here.
“Bella goes to elementary school in Deer River, an Itasca County town of 900 people about 20 miles northwest of Grand Rapids. In recent years, the Deer River Schools district has struggled with low attendance and high chronic absenteeism. It has lower rates of consistent attendance than the state average, with about 57% of its students attending more than 90% of the time they were enrolled in 2022, compared with the statewide average of almost 70%.
To combat the trend, the district participates in a so-called full-service community school model, in which resources and workers are deployed to help with the deeper needs of students and families. One of the linchpins of that model is a second bus that will pick up students who miss the first one. That’s a big deal in this sprawling district, which covers 540 square miles and can leave students without secondary transportation adrift at home.”