06-05-2025
Education leaders work to get more kids back in the classroom
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Missing school in Tennessee is defined by two categories: truancy and chronic absenteeism.
Truancy is five more unexcused absences within a school year.
Chronic absenteeism, missing school whether it be excused or unexcused, is a federal statistic defined by students missing 10% of school days during the year.
The state average for chronic absenteeism is 18.9%. In Northeast Tennessee, the range is from just over 23% in places like Hawkins County and Kingsport to 11% in Greeneville.
'It's called an epidemic because it's just a changed mindset with families,' said Elizabethton City Schools Director of Attendance Travis Thompson
One of the biggest issues school districts face right now is with doctors' notes — excused absences signed off by physicians.
'A family might come in with say 40, 50 excused days of school and a doctors note that covers every one of them,' Thompson said.
'We have received excuses from Colorado, that say a child has strep and will miss three days,' Washington County Schools Director of Attendance Shannon Gray said. 'I'm not sure how they test for strep throat in Colorado.'
Still, the numbers are improving in most districts, like in Washington County. Ridgeview Elementary has the lowest absentee rate with 9.7%.
Gray is teaming up with Greeneville City Schools and Johnson City Schools to come up with new ways to get students back in school.
'We've compared support plans, how we are able to do contracts with these kinds and what we can put in place,' Gray said.
One of those success stories is inspirational videos, a collaboration between David Crockett High School multi-media and Grandview Elementary.
'That is one of our videos, Kindergarten Counts,' Gray said. 'Because that habit starts in kindergarten. If they are chronically absent or have poor attendance in kindergarten they are 30% less likely to be on track in third grade.'
Mountain City Elementary is also having success in the early grades, leaning on teachers and classes with rewards and incentives
'We try to put an emphasis on challenges, homeroom challenges,' Mountain City Elementary Assistant Principal Sadie Fletcher said. 'The monthly attendance winner, those students get their picture put on the board as a reward.'
Elizabethton City Schools' Thompson says rewards haven't worked as well for his school system. The district absentee rate is right at the state average of 18.8%.
'Just really trying to engage parents through multiple people instead of just maybe an administrator,' Thompson said.
Community effort is key as districts work to increase the number of students that are in school every day.
'Our goal was originally to reduce it by 2% each year, which we've done,' Gray said. 'I would be happy if we were below 10% because quite honestly that's a legitimate number for us.'
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