In the world of education, a silent but serious barrier for students can go unnoticed: absenteeism. When students attend school consistently, they have the opportunity to engage with their peers, build relationships with educators, and take in the knowledge crucial for their success.

The Importance of Consistent Attendance

Chronic absenteeism, typically defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, can have severe repercussions. Adequate attendance is the cornerstone of academic achievement, which is true across all grades from preschool through 12th grade.

Study after study including before and after the pandemic show that students who miss more school than their peers consistently score lower on standardized tests and can even fail to graduate. In primary grades, absenteeism can mean risking the child’s ability to master reading by the end of 3rd grade. For example, chronically absent students in kindergarten score lower in math overall and language arts testing segments like letter recognition.

Absenteeism is also a habit that can start early and continue through high school if not curbed in the primary grades. Statistics show that about one-third of chronically absent students in preschool will also be chronically absent in kindergarten. Further out, chronically absent students in preschool are five times more likely to be chronically absent in second grade and so on.

Besides the negative impact on student performance and their social-emotional wellbeing, chronic absenteeism also affects a school’s funding, which is based on each child’s attendance. Less revenue means fewer programs and supplies to help make school engaging. For teachers, it means spending extra time creating make-up work and trying to figure out how to provide interventions for those who are weeks or even months behind their peers.

Addressing the Root Causes

Addressing chronic absenteeism requires a multifaceted approach involving schools, families, and communities working together to provide support, resources, and interventions to help students overcome attendance barriers. Chronic absenteeism is unfortunately more common for low-income students due to barriers like unstable housing, unreliable transportation and a lack of health care access. These are issues that require a whole-community approach.

Schools, families, and communities must collaborate to create a supportive environment that mitigates these challenges. According to an EdSource data analysis in 2017-18, in California it is often rural areas that have rates of chronic absenteeism above 20 percent.

The top 10 districts in that analysis were all rural. Many schools in this data analysis, like in Plumas County, point to trauma, housing instability, and income challenges. For example, schools report including in our own county that older students often stay home to take care of their sick, younger sibling so the parents can still work.

A group of districts in Shasta County is working to better address the varying needs and challenges our rural student’s face and how that impacts their ability to get to school. This group is finding that the most valuable step in addressing absences is talking with families about what is happening in their lives. In some cases, there may be extensive resources and assistance that the family needs from multiple government agencies, and in other cases it may be as simple as getting the student an alarm clock.

This rural picture fits in with case studies across the nation about the relationship between families and their ability to prioritize school. For example, studies show that there is a strong correlation between regular attendance and positive parental beliefs about the importance of school. As well, schools with strong parent involvement and where parent surveys show a trust in teachers, also have stronger attendance.

These trends mean that building a culture of attendance awareness requires the active involvement of the entire community. Schools, parents, local government, businesses, and nonprofits must come together to support students and families facing attendance challenges. Trinity County Office of Education is also helping coordinate these types of efforts with the “Community Schools Grant” that several schools in our county received. The community school grant supports schools’ efforts to partner with local agencies to improve student outcomes.

Highlighting other practices that many of our schools in Trinity County take is the establishment of attendance teams in schools, comprising teachers, counselors, and support staff. These teams identify at-risk students, develop strategies to support them, and connect families with necessary resources.

Positive reinforcement can also play a role in improving attendance. Schools often implement reward programs, such as attendance certificates or recognition assemblies, to celebrate students who consistently attend school. Incentives, like school supplies or special privileges, can motivate students to prioritize attendance.

K-12 attendance awareness is more than just a concern for educators; it’s a collective responsibility of communities. There are resources for students and families like the McKinney-Vento program for families who are doubled up with other families or experiencing homelessness, for example, programs like CalFresh and more that can help lessen the barriers that our students face.

To utilize these resources, this means families and schools must talk to each other. By helping to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism and supporting a positive view toward the importance of education, communities can pave the way for every student to reach their full potential.