Re-Engaging the Chronically Absent: A Higher Education Reform Perspective

Introduction

School attendance remains imperative for academic success. Yet chronic absenteeism affects over 8 million students nationwide. As a higher education reform expert, analyzing root causes and proposing solutions is crucial.

This comprehensive guide first conveys the scope of America’s chronic absenteeism crisis. Clear analysis then links attendance to reforms needed in policy, teaching practices, and hierarchical systems of accountability. Evidence-based recommendations provide educators tools to re-engage the chronically absent and at-risk. Robust legal precedents also detail students’ rights when absences become unavoidable.

By framing absenteeism through a reform lens, leaders can positively reshape supports at the federal, state, district, administrative, classroom, and familial levels. The ultimate goal? Making engagement irresistible for each and every student.

Defining Chronic Absenteeism

To understand this epidemic, consistent definitions prove vital:

Chronic absenteeism: Missing 10% or more of school days in an academic year for any reason – excused absences, unexcused absences, or suspensions. This translates to just 2 days per month.

Significance: Research from John Hopkins University (1) reveals chronic absenteeism in kindergarten equates to lower academic performance in first grade for all students. These early gaps widen as years progress.

National Crisis: By the Numbers

The most comprehensive national study on chronic absenteeism (2) reveals:

• 16% of all K-12 students are chronically absent each year
• By high school, chronic absenteeism affects 1 in 5 students
• Hardest hit groups include homeless youth (34.8% chronic absenteeism), children with disabilities (26.2%), and English language learners (20.2%) compared to 12.1% of all students

This crisis exacerbates achievement gaps and dropout rates. Left unaddressed, cycles of disengagement perpetuate.

Chronic Absenteeism Trends by Grade Level

Grade	Chronic Absenteeism Rate
K	11.0%
1st	12.1%
2nd	11.5%
3rd	11.4%
4th	11.6%
5th	12.7%
6th	13.5%
7th	15.9%
8th	17.1%
9th	19.9%
10th	21.2%
11th	22.5%
12th	25.6%

Table 1. Chronic absenteeism rates by grade level nationally during 2015-2016 school year. Adapted from National Center for Education Statistics study (2).

These troubling trends demand thoughtful reforms.

Root Causes Analysis

Chronic absenteeism stems from an intersection of factors deficits in:

Student Health & Wellbeing

• Physical and mental health issues
• Food and housing insecurity
• Impacts of trauma and violence

Family & Community Supports

• Transportation barriers
• Resource deficiencies
• High family mobility between schools

School Climate & Culture

• Lack of engaging, personalized curricula
• Weak teacher-student relationships
• Harsh punitive discipline policies
• General sense of alienation from peers or faculty

Legal & Policy Background

• Insufficient attention from policymakers
• Funding complexities across states and districts
• Reliance on truancy officers and courts to deter

Reforms must through coordinated efforts address all four areas simultaneously.

Linking Attendance to High-Impact Reforms

Using an equity lens, research-backed reforms positively impact attendance rates long-term by addressing root causes.

Personalized, Culturally Competent Teaching

Students attend school when instruction resonates with their lived experiences and interests. Key reforms include:

• Universal screening for trauma and ACE factors
• Embedded social-emotional skill building
• Ethics of care principles embedded schoolwide
• Destreaming to heterogeneously group students
• Curriculum audits discarding inherent biases

Restorative Approaches to Discipline

Punitive policies that heavily rely on detentions, suspensions, and law enforcement referral fuel disengagement. Alternative discipline reforms centered on relationships and restoration have demonstrated positive attendance results.

• Teacher empathy training and bias reduction
• Peer mediation and dispute resolution
• Family group counseling sessions
• Student tribunals and circles

Community Schools Model

Schools alone cannot overcome chronic absenteeism. Partnering with families and neighborhoods via grassroots community schools boosts attendance by bridging resource gaps.

• Co-locating medical, dental, mental health clinics onsite
• Offering adult ESL, GED courses, job training for parents
• Providing childcare, food banks, housing supports
• Making schools true neighborhood hubs

Two-Generation Policies

Educational success links tightly to family wellbeing. "Two-gen" policies (3) jointly assist parents and children via:

• Home nursing visits for pregnant/parenting teens
• High-quality early learning programs
• Adult mentorships and homeownership programs
• Targeted scholarships and career pathways

Caregiver success fosters student achievement.

Policy Recommendations

With comprehensive background conveyed, specific federal to local policy recommendations follow.

Federal & State

• Require chronic absenteeism reporting in state report cards under Every Student Succeeds Act
• Explicitly include attendance metrics in state accountability systems
• Fund pilot programs expanding community schools and restorative practices
• Support social workers, counselors, and mental health staffing
• Incentivize personalized, culturally responsive curricula and assessments

District

• Hire attendance supervisors to monitor trends and spearhead reforms
• Use early warning systems leveraging real-time attendance data
• Develop customized re-engagement plans for severely disengaged youth
• Allocate resources equitably based on need via weighted student funding
• Strengthen partnerships with health providers to co-locate clinics

Administrator

• Set clear, high expectations for attendance in school vision
• Improve outreach through home visits and neighborhood events
• Refer and fund school-based health center if need emerges
• Implement schoolwide positive behavioral supports framework
• Host student forums eliciting feedback to improve climate

Teacher & Counselor

• Build relationships through regular check-ins and mentoring
• Personalize instruction using students’ cultural assets
• Provide personalized skill recovery for students with gaps
• Offer individual and family counseling for emerging issues
• Connect families to community resources like housing/food

Legal Rights to Accommodations

Despite best efforts, students will inevitably face situations necessitating short-term absences. Federal precedents enshrine student rights to religious exemptions, health accommodations, and familial obligations. Schools demonstrating due diligence around attendance overall can better support students facing crises through compassionate flexibility.

Conclusion

Chronic early absenteeism dims students’ educational horizons. Catching disengagement early and addressing root causes through heavyweight reforms re-engages the chronically absent while further preventing at-risk students from reaching that point. Progress requires effort from educators while also providing students wraparound supports. By framing absenteeism as both an individualized crisis needing empathy and systemic quandary necessitating reforms, schools can dramatically boost engagement, achievement, and attainment over time.

References

1. Ehrlich, Stacy B. et al. “Preschool Attendance in Chicago Public Schools: Relationships with Learning Outcomes and Reasons for Absences.” University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. May 2014.
2. “Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation‘s Schools.” The National Center for Education Statistics. January 2019.
3. “Two-Generation State Policy Toolkit.” The Aspen Institute, 2018.