Chronic absenteeism is defined as “missing at least 10 percent of days in a school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences” as stated by the American Federation of Teachers. Absences flared up across the country following the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing in every state where the data was made public. In fact, after the pandemic the number of absent students has almost doubled.
A student can become chronically absent for a plethora of reasons; mental health, illness, poverty, transportation struggles, and family difficulties etc. However, attendance is unforgiving and both excused and unexcused absences count towards your attendance.
But is skipping a few classes a week or a month the worst thing that a student can do? Studies say yes, as being chronically absent from school makes it difficult for a student to keep up at the pace they are expected to learn and grow. Ultimately leading to a student to fall behind academically. For older students, as absences grow, it becomes strongly associated with school failure, such as dropping out of school, being expelled, or suspended.
Personally, as a student who is chronically absent, I have remained perpetually behind academically. As my attendance worsens, so do my grades, and this startling fact has remained true for most students.
A spokesperson for the Wichita Public Schools district stated the final absenteeism rate for USD259 was a staggering 40.1%, including excused and unexcused absences, per Carina Branson from the KSNW. To put this startling statistic into perspective, that means that almost half of Wichita Public Schools students were identified as chronically absent.
According to Jeffrey Welch, a teacher at Wichita South High School, the Wichita Public Schools district has made it a goal to have a minimum attendance rate of 90.1%. But what exactly is the Wichita Public Schools doing to combat the prevailing issue of chronic absenteeism and achieve this seemingly far-fetched goal?
In the face of an issue that affects ten of thousands of students, Wichita Public Schools hired an outside party, Everyday Labs, to reduce chronic absenteeism rates. Everyday Labs keeps track of student’s attendance, recognizes those at risk, and dispatches mail and text messages to parents or guardians, who should address absenteeism. Everyday Labs calls this method “targeted intervention” and believes that these nudges to a students parent, guardian, or other family members will push them to confront or discuss the issue.
However, as of July 31st 2023, Everyday Labs has enacted a pilot program under 13 schools; White, Hamilton, Payne, Hadley, Truesdell, Curtis, North, Cessna, Linwood, Stanley, Coleman, Benton, and Mead.
While absences have generally decreased across the country, the rates are still high. In some states chronic absenteeism remains unabated, but for Kansas specifically, chronic absenteeism has been on a three-year decline. The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably affected education as a whole, and the high absenteeism rates are a reflection that the positive conditions that reinforce regular school attendance have been deteriorating and educators and students can only work towards rebuilding those positive conditions that reinforce attendance.
