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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How a California school district is solving chronic absenteeism
As a school nurse in a rural district in Livingston, California, Lori Morgan's job usually involves scraped knees and vision tests. But she couldn't help putting one more task on her to-do list: attendance. "In a perfect world, the first time they didn't come to school, we would go out and meet the parent or call the parent," Morgan said. Morgan said she calls the parents, and if they don't answer, she visits families at home, encouraging them to reach out to her personally with questions about stomachaches or anxiety. "When somebody will say, 'Lori, what are you doing calling me at 7 at night?' Well, which kid do I give 50% to? I gotta give each one of them 100%," Morgan said. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of chronically absent students more than doubled to a peak of 31% in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the Department of Education. The most recent data shows 28% of students were chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year, meaning they missed 10% or more of school days. Because of the pandemic, many younger children never got the chance to attend day care and build good habits. In California, one in three kindergartners are chronically absent, according to state data. At the beginning of the year, Karolina Garcia's 5-year-old daughter Selene was missing at least one day a week on average. "Am I a bad mom for leaving her when she's crying or am I a bad mom because she doesn't wanna go and I'm still taking her?" Garcia said. Garcia said it was often hard to convince her daughter to go to school because she would tell her mom she was getting bullied or getting in trouble. Missing one day of school at that age is more like missing three, with students needing two days to catch up, educators in the district say. Only 17% of kids chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade were able to read proficiently in third grade, according to the nonprofit Attendance Works. "We don't stop. We keep going. If you miss some of the foundational skills, we don't stop and go back necessarily," Morgan said. Morgan has helped make her district, the Livingston Union School District, an outlier, dropping its chronic absentee rate from 19% to 14%, according to the California Department of Education. The school focuses on connection and rewards good attendance with extra recess to teach kids from a young age that they are wanted at school — and giving parents such as single mom Garcia any extra support they might need. "Sometimes you gotta fix what's going on with the adults in the house before you can have a healthy kid," Morgan said. "I know how important it is for a child to get a really good education," Morgan continued. "You start off bagging kindergarten, it all really does matter." She's living the lesson she wants to teach parents and students: It's simply showing up that matters most. Sneak peek: Fatal First Date Texas mom accused of buying ammunition for son who officials say planned school attack Trump teases "good news" on Russia-Ukraine war
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kindergarten's Overlooked Absenteeism Problem
Gabrielle Pobega knows kindergarten is more than just kids coloring, playing and singing songs, so she made sure her daughter made it to kindergarten at Lincoln Park Academy in Cleveland every day. 'They teach you ABCs,' Pobrega said as he picked up her third grader after school. 'They teach you how to write. They teach you small little words and it prepares them for first grade.' But not all parents value kindergarten as much as Pobrega. So many parents treat kindergarten as less important than other grades that it adds up into a major problem — nationally, across Ohio and particularly at Lincoln Park and other high-poverty schools. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Kindergarten has the highest absenteeism problem of any elementary grade in several states, studies have shown. In Ohio, attendance can be so bad that state data show some kindergartens approaching 90% chronic absenteeism. Though chronic absenteeism — students missing 10 percent or more of school days — is drawing national attention for high school students, there has long been a second, less publicized, peak in absenteeism in kindergarten and sometimes preschool that is also damaging. Hedy Chang, one of the leading researchers of absenteeism and its effects, said kindergarten absenteeism needs educator's attention, not just high school absences. 'You really want to worry about both,' said Chang, founder of the nonprofit Attendance Works. 'You want to care about your youngest incoming learners, because that's going to be critical for the long term. What you don't invest in and address early, you might pay for later.' Consider: In Ohio, more than a quarter of Ohio kindergarteners missed at least 18 days of school in the 2023-24 school year, state data shows, making kindergarten the highest chronic absenteeism rate of any elementary school grade in the state. That matches findings by nonprofit FutureEd in March that kindergarteners had the highest chronic absenteeism of any grade in Hawaii and Utah last school year. In all 20 other states FutureEd looked at, Kindergarten had the highest chronic absenteeism rates before 7th grade. 'We see this U-shaped curve,' when charting absenteeism by grade, said Amber Humm Patnode, acting director of Proving Ground, a Harvard based research and absenteeism intervention effort. There is high absenteeism in kindergarten, it improves for several years, and typically rises again in late middle school. She said there are really two separate absenteeism problems — one for the youngest and one for the oldest students — that need different strategies to fix. Ohio State University professor Arya Ansari, who specializes in early childhood education, called kindergarten absenteeism 'problematic' because missed classes add up over the years. 'Kids who missed school in kindergarten do less well academically in terms of things like counting, letters, word identification, language skills.., they do less well in terms of their executive function skills, and they do less well socially and behaviorally,' Ansari said. 'Days missed in preschool or kindergarten kind of set the stage, or are precursors for future absences,' he added. 'So when you're frequently absent, it kind of begins to have a snowball effect and sets habits that are harder to break later on.' There's also another dynamic at play with kindergarten absences: It varies by school, in very dramatic ways. Though Ohio's kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate was just above 26% last year, 27 kindergartens had chronic absenteeism triple that rate, coming close to or exceeding 80%. Lincoln Park had the worst rate in the state last year at nearly 90%, with close to 9 out of 10 kindergarteners qualifying as chronically absent. Adding to the damage, the worst kindergarten absenteeism is happening in places where the students need it most. Ohio's list of highest absenteeism rates is dominated by schools in, or next to, the state's biggest or most poor cities — Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown — where students have performed well below suburban students for years. In contrast, affluent and higher-performing schools easily have less than 5% kindergarten chronic absenteeism, with several at zero. Students in the high-poverty schools are not only missing days that could start them on a path to catching up, the absences are holding everyone back even more, Chang said. 'I consider high (absenteeism) at 20%, 30% in a school,' Chang said. '80%? That's an extremely high level of chronic absence. When schools have really high levels of chronic absence, the churn just makes everything harder. It makes it harder for teachers to teach, set classroom norms and kids to learn.' Some of why kindergarten absenteeism is so high is easy to understand. For many kids, it's the first year of school, so kindergartens become superspreader sites for colds, flu and other illnesses kids haven't been exposed to before. Since chronic absenteeism includes any days missed, even for illness, rates could legitimately spike. The pandemic added a twist to that, said Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University professor and another leader in absenteeism research. 'It used to be that parents got guidance (that) If your kid just had sniffles, you could send them to school,' Balfanz said. 'Then, coming out of the pandemic, parents got the message… perhaps overload, perhaps not…that should you have any sign of illness, you could have COVID. That's another factor.' Just as important: Only 17 states required students to attend kindergarten as of 2023, according to the Education Commission of the States. That easily leads parents to consider it optional and for school to really start in first grade. Then there's kindergartners' need for parents or siblings to take them to school or to their bus stop. If school and work schedules don't align, or if a sibling's school is different, kindergarten falls lower on the priority list. 'A kindergartener not coming to school is not necessarily the kindergartner saying, 'I'm not going to school today,' ' said Jessica Horowitz-Moore, chief of student and academic supports for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 'That has to do a lot with the parents.' Parents oftentimes don't appreciate how fast absences add up. Another parent picking up children at Lincoln Park was a perfect example. That father said his child only missed school 'a couple times a month' when in kindergarten. But twice a month is 10% of the 20 school days in a month (Four weeks of five days each) which is right on pace for chronic absenteeism. Some of the kindergartens in Ohio with the worst absenteeism in 2023-24 were failing in many other ways too: Two charter elementary schools with kindergarten chronic absenteeism over 87% closed before school began this academic year. Some, including the Stepstone Academy charter school in Cleveland, did not respond to multiple messages from The 74. Lincoln Park, with the worst kindergarten absenteeism problem in the state, is part of the ACCEL charter schools, a fast-growing multi-state charter network, that had five of Ohio's 10-worst kindergartens for chronic absenteeism. Representatives of the network said the schools are often in high poverty neighborhoods with families that move frequently, which disrupts attendance. Students often don't have reliable transportation, they said, and Ohio's charter schools have less money to put toward attendance issues than districts. Lincoln Park school leaders say they're trying to improve attendance and academic performance. Both the school's principal and kindergarten teacher are new this year and interim Principal Erika Vogtsberger said she expects the preschool attendance rate to go up from 74% last year to about 80% this school year. She said fewer families are moving during this school year than last, and more than 90% of Lincoln Park's students have signed up to return, bringing stability she thinks will help attendance. The school has also been trying for a few years to encourage attendance. It has early morning and afterschool sessions so working parents can drop children off at 6:30 am and pick them up as late as 5:30 pm. It holds special events like pancake breakfasts for families to encourage attendance and gives classrooms with 90 percent attendance for five days a chance to spin a wheel for rewards like pizza parties or a chance to wear pajamas to school for a day. But even at 90% goal to earn prizes still leaves 10% of students absent racking up days toward chronic absenteeism. 'We have to make it attainable,' Vogtsberger said. 'If I had it at 95%, the kids who are here without missing a day are going to get discouraged because… we do have a small cluster of people who are out pretty regularly.' 'Nobody would get it,' added Sherree Dillions, a regional superintendent for ACCEL. 'At least, with the 90%, peer to peer pressure is a big piece. You say 'You better come … You better come tomorrow, because we want that pizza party', or we want whatever … Because the kid wants the prize.' Voghtsberger said she also does not want to punish students, either, because their parents aren't doing what they need to do. 'No matter how bad some students want to be at school, if their parents are not getting up in the morning and bringing them, they cannot get to school, and… that's not their fault.' she said. School officials also said parents are a problem beyond not bringing children to school. Parents, they said, are often abusive when called or visited to check on students and have sometimes threatened school officials with guns or dogs. Ohio has also moved away from taking action against students or parents for truancy, so parents face no penalty for keeping students home, as they do in other states, including Indiana, West Virginia and Iowa. 'If I had my way, parents would be held accountable across the board,' Dillions said. The Toledo school district, whose Sherman elementary school has the worst absenteeism of any school district kindergarten in Ohio, also saw parents push back when the school called or visited about students skipping school. The district decided in 2017 to pay for well-known people in neighborhoods, like football coaches or local volunteers, to serve as 'attendance champions' to talk to parents instead of school officials. '(They) go out to the homes,' Baker said. 'They complete home visits. They work with the families to remove barriers to attendance. They're in the buildings every day, building relationships with students, removing barriers on that end as well.' 'They are not truancy officers,' Baker stressed. 'They are not to issue any punishment. That's not their thing. This is about, 'How can I help get Johnny back into school?' The champions have reduced some of the tension between schools and parents, she said. Baker has seen better attendance this year, so she expects kindergarten chronic absenteeism there to fall from about 87% to 77% — still about triple the statewide rate. There are some reasons for optimism across Ohio and nationally. Absenteeism at all grades, including kindergarten, is improving yearly since the end of the pandemic everywhere. Baker said, though, that kindergarten may need to be more of a priority. 'We're going to have to really hit preschool and kindergarten a little bit harder with our interventions that we are setting up,' she said. 'We have been very much focused on high school. But I think for us as a district … we really have to continue to hit this hard across the board.'
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Report: How Districts in 7 States Are Helping Chronically Absent Homeless Kids
Two very troubling trends are converging on U.S. schools. One is the rising number of students experiencing homelessness. That figure reached 1.4 million last year, as the number of families with children living in homeless shelters or visibly unsheltered nationwide grew by 39%. At the same time, schools are struggling to bring down high absenteeism rates that undermine academic achievement and school climate. While there's been some progress since the pandemic, far more students are missing a month or more of school than in 2019. The rates are particularly high among homeless students: Nearly half of them were chronically absent in the 2022-23, compared with about 28% of all students and 36% of those who are economically disadvantaged. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter These results are hardly surprising: The constant moves that come with homelessness often leave children far from their schools and without an easy way to get there. Hunger, lack of clean clothes and mental or physical illnesses complicate the picture. Our organizations, SchoolHouse Connection and Attendance Works, spent the past six months interviewing school leaders across the country to learn how districts are bringing students without stable housing back to school. Our findings reflect common-sense approaches driven by data and cloaked in compassion. The first step is to identify the students who need help. The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides school districts with money for transportation, staffing and other assistance to students residing in shelters, cars and motels, as well as those staying temporarily with other people. But many families and youth don't realize they qualify for extra help from the school district, and others are afraid or embarrassed to say they are homeless. Related School districts are adjusting their registration forms to reflect different sorts of temporary living arrangements. And they're training all school staff, from attendance clerks to counselors to administrators, to recognize the signs of homelessness. Even tardiness or poor attendance can be a tipoff that families have lost their homes. Some districts are going further. In Henrico County, Virginia, the McKinney-Vento team hosts summer events at Richmond-area motels where homeless families live and signs students up for services. In Albuquerque, team members visit homeless shelters and RV parks. Once students are identified, districts need to track what's happening with their attendance and update the data regularly. Many districts are using school attendance teams that focus on addressing the factors that keep students from showing up, such as transportation, hunger and depression. In California's Coalinga-Huron Unified School District, for instance, officials huddle at each school once a week with a list of homeless students and review academics, attendance and other indicators. They emerge with action items for helping students, whether it's rearranging a school bus route, bringing in a counselor or connecting the family to food and other services. Coalinga-Huron's efforts are supported by real-time data analysis from the Fresno County Office of Education. In the small rural district and elsewhere, transportation remains one of the biggest barriers to school attendance for homeless students. Recognizing this, the McKinney-Vento Act requires districts to provide eligible students with a way to get to their 'school of origin' if it is in their best interest. This often creates logistical challenges. Related For students living beyond school bus lines, some districts use vans or car services with drivers vetted for safety. But the costs can be high, and drivers are sometimes in short supply. Others offer gas cards to parents or student drivers. The Oxford Hills School District in Maine paid for one student's driver's education course. The challenges go beyond expenses. Henrico County created school bus stops for homeless children living at motels but found the kids were embarrassed for their classmates to see where they lived. The district then changed the routes so the motels were the first stop of the day and the final stop in the afternoon. Depression and anxiety can also contribute to absenteeism. Near Denver, Adams 12 Five Star School District matches youth experiencing homelessness with mentors for a 15-hour independent study focused on academic goals, social-emotional development and postsecondary options. Kansas City, Kansas, uses a '2 x 10' approach, with a staff member spending two minutes talking to each at-risk student for 10 consecutive days. It's also key to reach families, many of whom report feeling unwelcome at school or embarrassed by their living situations. Fresno Unified School District in California hosts parent advisories to to discuss challenges that are keeping homeless students from attending school. Adams 12 hired a diverse team of specialists whose backgrounds include some of the experiences that their students are living through, including poverty, immigration and homelessness. Henrico County spent some of its federal COVID relief funding for two years of Spanish lessons that help the McKinney-Vento team members communicate with families more easily. This work takes coordination across departments, so that district staffers who concentrate on homeless students work closely with those monitoring school attendance. It also requires strong relationships with community-based organizations. Several districts use a community schools approach that coordinates nonprofits and government agencies in supporting students and families. In Coalinga-Huron, where families often have trouble accessing social services located more than an hour away in the county seat of Fresno, the district offers nonprofit organizations space to provide immigration services and language instruction, as well as a food pantry, clothing closet and health clinic. Related Several states have also launched grant programs or provide funding specifically for students experiencing homelessness. In Washington state, a grant funds North Thurston Public School's student navigator program that connects each homeless student with a staff member. Adams 12 relies in part on Colorado's Education Stability Grant to pay the salaries for some of the specialists on its team. These districts are using data-driven approaches to improve attendance for homeless students. And they're doing it with compassion and heart. They recognize that these absences mean weaker academic performance and higher dropout rates. In some places, the absences affect school funding, leaving less money available. As the homelessness rate continues to rise, districts should adopt these common-sense approaches to identifying students, tracking data and addressing barriers with community, state and federal support. SchoolHouse Connection and Attendance Works are hosting webinars to explore the findings at 1 p.m. Eastern March 13 and 18. A SchoolHouse Connection-University of Michigan database provides chronic absenteeism rates for homeless students at the district, county and state levels. Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and Overdeck Family Foundation provide financial support to Attendance Works and The 74.
