Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

 

  

Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

According to the article Chronic Absenteeism (n.d), Chronic absenteeism is defined as students missing 10% of school days, or approximately 18 days in a school year, for any reason, excused or unexcused. In a report by the U.S. Department of Education for the 2022-2023 school year, more than 28% of students missed at least three weeks of school. 

Missing school means missing valuable instructional time, seriously impacting students' overall academic success and well-being (Chronic Absenteeism, n.d.). While many studies have shown that not students who do not come to school can have lower reading levels, than their peers in the same grade level and age.

Most Students miss days of school mostly due to illness, but some have a lack of family support or a family member who has health issues (Chronic Absenteeism, n.d.). While another area is a result of the lack of engagement and the school climate (Echo360, 2024)

Health issues are a part of life. Illness cannot be helped. If a child is sick as well as an adult the child stays home not to risk anyone else getting sick. But when a student is out for several days the school calls and threatens to take the parents to court unless they have a doctor's note. This leaves parents confused about whether or not they should bring their children to school if they are sick or not.  

Lack of Engagement and the school environment can make a child not want to go to school. The school needs to provide a safe environment for the students. As far as lack of engagement, I put out a questionnaire of likes and dislikes so I can engage my students in the lessons. I make it for them to have real-life connections with the students' likes so the lesson is geared towards them. According to my principal, my student's attendance has gone up since they had a different teacher last year. 

According to Shiftboard (2024), employees who feel healthy, safe, and satisfied with their jobs also feel empowered at work. This is why as educators we need to provide and safe and healthy environment for our students. Each day the students come to school to learn new outcomes and life skills. This helps with adulthood when they feel like they can go to work and want to do their job.

Do you think being sick should counted as chronic absenteeism?
If your child does not want to go to school, how can you get your child to come to school more often?


https://sites.google.com/eagles.cui.edu/marilyngubac/blogs
 
References


Chronic absenteeism. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/teaching-and-administration/supporting-students/chronic-absenteeism


Shiftboard. (2024, September 27). 4 Proactive Strategies to Manage Absenteeism: A best practices guide - Shiftboard. Shiftboard. https://www.shiftboard.com/blog/4-proactive-strategies-to-manage-absenteeism-a-best-practices-guide/


Echo360. (2024, November 5). Addressing chronic absenteeism in Education - Echo360. https://echo360.com/articles/addressing-chronic-absenteeism-in-education/?msclkid=9959c181634e1b992110a614006b933f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Echo360%20DSA&utm_term=echo360&utm_content=All%20Webpages%20DSA

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