Student attendance at school is a critical part of academic success. Educators can’t teach students who are not in school. Across the nation and in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD), the numbers of students with chronic absenteeism is growing.
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Hubbard and Dr. Jeremy Higgins, director of secondary human resources, recently delved into the issue and discussed how to improve attendance rates in episode nine of the Shawnee Mission Mic’d Up podcast. They were joined by Cecelia Leong, vice president of programs at Attendance Works, a national nonprofit organization committed to improving attendance policies and practices.
What is Chronic Absenteeism?
Dr. Hubbard shared that chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing at least 10% of their enrolled school days. To put it into perspective, this equates to missing an average of one school day every two weeks.
It may be surprising to some, but both excused and unexcused absences contribute to chronic absenteeism, explained Dr. Higgins. “When parents have a doctor’s appointment for their child or a dentist appointment and their child has missed some of the school day, that’s an excused absence. But it’s also an absence that counts toward this chronic absenteeism data point,” said Higgins.
What Does the Data Show?
In the podcast, Dr. Hubbard shared that districts across the state of Kansas and nationally have seen an increase in chronic absenteeism since the onset of the pandemic. In fact, when comparing pre-pandemic and current attendance levels, the chronic absenteeism rate for some grades in the SMSD has more than doubled.
Dr. Hubbard highlighted information showing that seniors and kindergarteners have been particularly affected, with over 46% of seniors and 20% of kindergarteners being chronically absent at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
SMSD is not alone in facing this challenge, explained Leong. The national chronic absence rate is currently 30%, higher than SMSD’s rate of 22-23%.
The Connection Between Attendance and Achievement
Chronic absenteeism is a cause for concern because data demonstrates the connection between attendance and academic achievement. Regular school attendance is a key factor in helping students stay on track with their coursework, maintain positive academic progress, and build a strong foundation for future success.
Leong pointed to a growing body of research that shows how school absences adversely impact student learning and outcomes. “Beginning in kindergarten, when students are chronically absent, just missing two-days a month over the course of a year leads to students not reading proficiently by third grade,” shared Leong. “That leads to poor performance academically by middle school. If it continues, it leads to dropout or lower graduation rates.”
Solutions to the Problem
The podcast touched on strategies for addressing chronic absenteeism, especially in high school.
Leong recommended shifting mindsets from blame to support, adopting a team approach, building relationships, and making learning meaningful and relevant to students’ futures.
“Students have to have a reason to be there. It’s linked to their futures,” explained Leong. “And many of our young people, particularly those who are in economically challenged situations, are really making that hard tradeoff of work to bring in money for the short term versus study.”
Dr. Hubbard shared that the district has been taking a number of approaches to encourage regular attendance. The district has prioritized building relationships with students and families as a cornerstone of its approach. In addition, SMSD has been monitoring absenteeism at both the district and school levels and continues its focus on Real World Learning initiatives that make learning relevant and meaningful for students.
“This year we set two district goals and one of them is specifically digging into the well-being of the kids and making sure that we’re taking care of them in all aspects. Absenteeism is one of those aspects,” expressed Hubbard.
New episodes of Shawnee Mission Mic’d Up drop every other Thursday and can be found wherever you download your podcasts. To learn more about the podcast or to listen to episode 9 visit the webpage here.