Case Study: Derry Area School District achieves 63% fewer truancy hearings with PowerSchool Attendance Intervention

A simple shift to automated, two-way messaging helped the district save staff time, strengthen parent communication, and drastically reduce the occurrence of truancy hearings

Derry Area School District, located east of Pittsburgh, was struggling with a post-pandemic rise in chronic absenteeism and a time-consuming attendance process that relied on printed warning letters and unanswered phone calls. The district needed a faster, more supportive way to communicate with families and intervene early to reduce truancy hearings.

By partnering with PowerSchool and using PowerSchool Attendance Intervention, Derry Area School District switched to automated two-way messaging by text, email, and phone, making outreach faster and easier to manage. The results were significant: truancy hearings fell from 78 in 2023–24 to 49 in 2024–25, a 63% reduction, while district-wide attendance rose to 94.6% and staff saved hours of manual work.

Derry Area School District

Tom Esposito

Attendance Officer