Federal, state and local education leaders recently gathered at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House for an “Every Day Counts Summit” to encourage families, community organizations, local elected officials, businesses, faith leaders, pediatricians and others to spread the word about the importance of school attendance, according to a K-12 Dive article.
The event was accompanied by a White House announcement that asked all states, cities and towns, and schools to cultivate a “culture of attendance” and asserted that students need to be in school.
Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason. (Source: The New York Times)
“Schools cannot do this work alone, and they shouldn’t have to,” says Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee.
Rhode Island is attacking the problem by engaging with educators, municipal leaders, elected officials, judges and others. The state’s Learn 365 RI initiative aims to shift learning from the traditional 180-day model to one that provides year-round educational and career readiness opportunities.
A statewide awareness campaign — “cool to be in school″ — features messages from influencers, incentives for strong attendance, and resources for schools.
More than 90% of schools in the state report fewer chronically absent students year-over-year, and nearly one-third of schools have reduced chronic absenteeism by 10 percentage points compared to the same time last year, McKee says.
In Indiana, educators note the highest rates of absenteeism are in K-2 and then in grades 9-12. In total, 19.3% of students missed about one month of school, according to Katie Jenner, secretary of education for Indiana.
“A lot of our conversation has been around: How do we make the four years of high school more valuable for students?” she says.
Educators at the local level shared strategies they use to ramp up attendance and engagement. These include:
- Shifting from punitive approaches to absenteeism to a model that removes barriers to individual attendance challenges, as well as one that increases positive school connections.
- Building relationships and prioritizing listening to families’ needs, such as working with partners to help find stable housing for families.
- Using a team approach that involves conducting regular meetings to talk about challenges and how to implement student supports.
- Setting an attendance goal, which helps create ownership toward reducing absenteeism.
- Soliciting support from community members, such as recreation center managers and pediatricians, to help emphasize to students and families the importance of school attendance.
- Conducting home visits so families and educators can collaborate on solutions for attendance barriers or just to build relationships.
- Identifying the root causes of chronic absenteeism and exploring interventions. Ask a student why they are chronically absent and you might hear that the student needs to work to support their family, needs to help care for younger siblings or can’t find transportation to school.
“This is a very crucial moment for academic recovery, so we need all hands on deck to make sure that we’re getting students fully engaged, and re-engaged in some cases, to attend school every day,” says U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
K-12 Dive
