While still struggling with chronic absenteeism among students post COVID-19, Thornton Township High School District 205 is tackling teacher attendance issues with $5,000 bonuses.

“Thousands of more students have had their own teachers in front of them, teaching their curriculum, building trust, and you can’t overstate how important that is to our learning, our culture and our stability,” District 205 Superintendent Nathaniel Cunningham said Thursday.

The bonuses for teachers present for 95% or more of the school year, or absent for about nine days, were first instituted for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years in negotiations with the district’s faculty union.

They were later extended through the current school year as part of a separate agreement with the union. The District 205 f

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