Among the most troubling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been too many students not going to school in too many communities. “Chronic absenteeism” was barely recognized as a “thing” when the term was first coined in 2008 by Hedy Nai-Lin Chang. Now it’s the buzzword to rally the nation around schools.
This focus is for good reasons: Chang and many other researchers found that tracking average student attendance hides important differences (as averages usually do). Students who miss 10 percent (about a month) of school or more during a school year are the most likely to struggle. Then, during and after the Pandemic, the levels of chronic absenteeism skyrocketed and have stayed significantly higher than before that global crisis.
It may be tempting to assume, as we have so many times, that something is wrong with the youth and families. However, research by Chang and many others is clear that such an approach is misguided. Chronic absenteeism is a symptom of a much more systemic set of issues facing young people, families, neighborhoods, schools, and communities of many shapes and sizes.
The good news is that many of the resources and solutions needed to reduce chronic absenteeism are in those same people and places. We need to see, partner, and invest in each of them—and in the challenge—differently.
This reframed agenda begins with rethinking how we approach chronic absenteeism (which is also referred to as “truancy”). Now and historically, the assumption has been that it’s an individual, punishable problem that drags down everyone else. Consider these examples:
In addition to these obviously problematic framings of youth and families from a deficit perspective, equally challenging and transformative shifts are needed. They involve shifting from a focus on the problem (chronic absenteeism) to focusing on systemic and culture-changing solutions, starting with two:
No single person, sector, organization, or system is or can be fully responsible for these two solutions. At the same time, an inspired stakeholder, sector, organization, or system is ready and well-positioned to champion one of these strategies, drawing others into this collective, movement-driven goal.
These shifts are aligned with FrameWorks Institute’s consistent recommendation to shift from presenting issues as crises or problems within individuals to examining how systems, institutions, cultures, and the environment shape the challenges that young people face. Those become opportunities to recognize and accept shared responsibility and to find shared solutions.
Creating relationship-rich school cultures would be the first of those shared solutions. The culture of a school or organization can be informally defined as “the way we do things around here.” When it comes to relationships, belonging, and trust involves all the messages, symbols, rituals, and expectations that are or become norms or part of the school’s culture.
A relationship-rich culture for all doesn’t mean a homogeneous relational culture. The challenge is for that culture to be truly welcoming and trustworthy for the diversity of students, educators, and staff who are part of the school community. If they don’t feel safe, welcomed, or included because of their race or ethnicity, their sexual orientation or gender identity, the way they dress, their religion (or lack of it), their home language, their abilities, or other unique characteristics, they may find it very difficult to face going to school many mornings.
What if every school had an aspirational goal that each student, teacher, family, administrator, and staff member felt safe, welcomed, and valued—like they belonged—when they were in the school building, in a school virtual space, or interacting with someone from the school community? That would require really knowing each person, what makes them tick, adjusting for what they need to learn, being curious about what makes them unique and what energizes them.
You wouldn’t have to start with everyone, but just those who weren’t showing up regularly, which you could identify through record keeping and data analysis. Or you could also use an activity like this all-teacher activity from a Nevada school (which schools that focus on nurturing Developmental Relationships and Developmental Assets have found to be powerful) as a way for students and teachers to get to know each other. The point is to find specific ways to get to know each individual. They will increasingly recognize that they each play valuable roles within the school community. When families and students know they’re valued and welcomed, and when staff know they are important, all are more likely to show up and contribute to shape a school where each person wants to be.
As relationships deepen between school leaders and students and families, leaders become more understanding of the other specific challenges that impact chronic absenteeism. These may include, based on a synthesis of the research, mental and physical health issues, food insecurity, housing instability, transportation, family caregiving responsibilities, involvement in the justice or child welfare system, and, most often, the compounding effects of several of these and other realities. These kinds of issues cannot be solved by schools alone. But seeing and knowing them changes the call to action as leaders engage with the broader community in the next opportunity.
Many states and schools are experimenting with different ways to ameliorate or address the effects of some of these systemic challenges. In the end, however, addressing many of the underlying barriers requires much more than a teacher, principal, whole school, or even school policy can do on its own. That’s where recognizing the shared opportunity and responsibility to support growth and learning is shared across communities, states, and the nation—the ecosystems in which young people live, grow, and draw sustenance.
Sometimes it’s easier to build momentum to take on a big challenge when others are also working on it. That’s the opportunity we all have this month, which is Attendance Awareness Month. Attendance Works, in collaboration with the Ad Council, has launched an ambitious call to action, 50 in 5, which aims to cut chronic absenteeism in half in five years. You can find dozens of resources to support your own call to action on the campaign’s website. They emphasize strategies for leaders and organizations across communities that are consistent with the strategies proposed in this article.
A complementary, student-focused campaign is the U. S. Department of Education’s Attendance Champions Challenge to highlight new ways to understand barriers to school attendance and propose creative solutions to increase student attendance and engagement in school (open until November 29). It’s designed for classrooms, youth groups, and by individual young people.
A basic rule of driving is to look ahead to where you’re going. Yes, you need to look around to check your blind spots, monitor your rearview mirror, and know what is going on around you. But you mostly need to keep your eyes focused on where you’re going. That’s because you tend to steer the car toward where you’re looking.
The same idea is useful for thinking about chronic absenteeism and consistent attendance. Though we certainly need to understand the challenge of chronic absenteeism, we need to set our sights on where we’re going. The vision is schools where each student, family, educator, and others know they are valued, contributing members of the school community. Schools actively nurture a culture that is rich in intentional, inclusive, and equitable relationships so that all feel safe, loved, and valued. And schools are centered in communities that keep their eyes on a shared commitment to ensure that all young people—particularly those who have experienced some of the greatest challenges in life—have access to the resources they need to fully engage in learning and thrive in life.