SW New Mexico News

Kathy Vigil, Student Attendance and Engagement Support Coordinator for Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS), has been recognized with the New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA) Award for Excellence in Student Achievement.

"Kathy leads the LCPS student attendance team and I awarded her for the excellence in student achievement," said Teresa Tenorio, President of the LCPS Board of Education.

"This began pretty much because of the pandemic when schools went remote. We had attendance become a major issue with chronic absenteeism across the nation. It wasn't just Las Cruces Public Schools. It was every school district across the United States."

Tenorio highlighted that at one point, over 40% of students were missing up to 10% of school days or classes, whether excused or not. Vigil began her work with the student attendance program in the 2022-2023 academic year and successfully secured a $300,000 Attendance for Success PED grant.

"She initiated a paid internship program for NMSU social workers to support positive attendance behaviors and provide mentorship. Under her leadership, we have 97% of students who received mentorship demonstrating an increase in their attendance," Tenorio added.

Vigil also provided guidance and support to all attendance teams. As of May 2024, the overall rate of chronically absent students decreased from 34% to 28%.

Under Vigil's leadership, the LCPS attendance team conducted 364 home visits, developed 1,417 student attendance intervention plans, made 80 CYFD referrals, and issued 31 JPO referrals.

"So, to Ms. Vigil, we are very thankful for the work you are doing and your leadership in the attendance teams," Tenorio concluded.