Actionable Strategies For Increasing Attendance and Reducing Chronic Absenteeism

While efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism typically focus on adolescents, we now know that the early grades are the place to start, because as many as 25% to 50% of children in pre-kindergarten programs are chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism among children during the early grades should be viewed as a critical and actionable warning sign of later academic distress.

Creating an ecology that facilitates regular school attendance and participation for at-risk children starts with reorienting from the negative framing of managing truancy to the positive framing of promoting attendance. This shift in framing means going from nudging, demanding, and punishing families for non-attendance to asking deeper questions about the underlying reasons why children in that district and school are chronically absent. Some of the many barriers include unstable housing and frequent moves, parent mental health and well-being, lack of reliable transportation, involvement with the child welfare system, child health and well-being, and lack of a culturally welcoming and engaging school climate.