Latest news with #Kirksey
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chronic Absenteeism's Post-COVID ‘New Normal': Data Shows It Is More Extreme
The percentage of students with good attendance fell sharply between 2019 and 2023, while the share of chronically absent students more than doubled, offering further evidence of the pandemic's shattering effect on the nation's classrooms. A new analysis of data from three states — North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — shows that prior to COVID, 17% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10% of the school year. By 2023, long after schools had to cope with new variants and hybrid schedules, that figure hit 37%. 'Absences are both more common for everybody, but they are also more extreme,' said Jacob Kirksey, an associate professor of education policy at Texas Tech University. Additional new research shows that while post-pandemic chronic absenteeism lingers across the board, rates were substantially higher for low-income students. In North Carolina, for example, the chronic absenteeism rate for students in poverty before the pandemic was 9.2 percentage points higher than for non-poor students. By 2023, the gap increased to 14.6 percentage points. 'The income gap really was the main driver that showed up over and over again,' said Morgan Polikoff, an education researcher at the University of Southern California. But it's hard for schools to make a dent in the problem, he said, if they aren't investigating the reasons for chronic absenteeism. 'There's a big difference between the kid [who] has an illness and is chronically sick versus the kid [who] is super disengaged.' Kirksey and Polikoff were among several researchers who shared their findings Friday at an American Enterprise Institute event focused on facing what Kirksey called the 'under-the-hood dynamics' of chronic absenteeism in the post-COVID era. Since 2022, when the national average peaked at 28%, the rate has dropped to 23% — still much higher than the pre-COVID level of about 15%, according to the conservative think tank's tracker. 'I have a question that keeps me up at night. That question is 'What's the new normal going to be?' ' said Nat Malkus, the deputy director of education policy at AEI. 'We see this rising tide, but I think that it's incumbent on us to say that chronic absenteeism still affects disadvantaged students more.' The research project began in September with the goal of offering guidance to districts in time for students' return to school this fall. The researchers stressed that those most likely to be chronically absent this school year — low-income, highly mobile and homeless students — are the same ones who will frequently miss school next year. 'Absenteeism should seldom come as a surprise,' said Sam Hollon, an education data analyst at AEI. 'It's hard to justify delaying interventions until absences have accumulated.' One new finding revealed Friday contradicts a theory that gained traction following the pandemic — that students were more likely to be absent if their teachers were also out. As with students, teacher absenteeism increased during the pandemic and hasn't returned to pre-COVID levels. The relationship between teacher absences and student absences, however, is 'pretty negligible,' said Arya Ansari, an associate professor of human development and family science at The Ohio State University. 'These absences among teachers don't actually contribute to the post-COVID bump that we've seen in student absences,' he said. 'Targeting teacher absences isn't going to move the needle.' Related The researchers discussed how even some well-intentioned responses to the COVID emergency have allowed chronic absenteeism to persist. States, Malkus said, made it easier to graduate despite frequent absences and missing school doesn't necessarily prevent students from turning in their work. 'In my day, you had to get a packet and do the work at home' if you were absent, Polikoff said. In interviews with 40 families after the pandemic, 39 said it was easy to make up work because of Google Classroom and other online platforms. 'How many said, 'Let's make it harder'? Zero.' In another presentation, Ethan Hutt, an associate education professor at the University of North Carolina, estimated that chronic absenteeism accounts for about 7.5% of overall pandemic learning loss and about 9.2% for Black and low-income students — a 'nontrivial, but modest' impact. He stressed that missing school also affects student engagement and relationships with teachers. While technology has made it easier for students to keep up, 'there may be other harms that we want to think about and grapple with,' he said. Related The new research comes as states are mounting new efforts to more closely track chronic absenteeism data and share it with the public. In 2010, only one state — Maryland — published absenteeism data on its state education agency website. Now, 49 states — all but New Hampshire — report rates on an annual, monthly or even daily basis, according to a new report released Tuesday by Attendance Works, an advocacy and research organization. The systems allow educators and the public to more quickly identify which students are most affected and when spikes occur. Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. post rates even before the end of the school year. Rhode Island offers real-time data, while Connecticut publishes monthly reports. The New Hampshire Department of Education doesn't monitor chronic absenteeism, but has a statewide 92.7% attendance rate, a spokesperson said. The report highlights states that have taken action to reduce chronic absenteeism. In Virginia, bus drivers ensure their routes include students who might be more likely to struggle with transportation. With state funds, Fauquier County, west of Washington, D.C., opened a center for students on short-term suspension to minimize the absences that tend to pile up when a student is removed from the classroom. Overall chronic absenteeism in the state declined from 19.3% in 2022-23 to 15.7% in 2023-24. To Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, such improvement proves 'we can still get things done in our country and in education, despite all of the culture wars and binary thinking.' Some district and school leaders have looked to their peers for ideas on how to get kids back in school. After participating in a six-month program with 16 other districts across the country organized by the nonprofit Digital Promise, Mark Brenneman, an elementary principal in New York's Hudson City Schools, started interviewing families about their challenges. He learned that Hispanic parents often keep their children home when it rains because they're worried they're going to catch a cold. Several had transportation challenges. His school, Smith Elementary, even contributed to the problem, he said, by holding concerts, award ceremonies or other family events in the morning. Parents would come to celebrate their children's accomplishments, then take them out for lunch and not return. Related Hudson, about 40 miles south of Albany, has undergone significant change since the pandemic, added Superintendent Juliette Pennyman. Some families leaving New York City have settled in Hudson, driving up the cost of housing. 'Our families are being priced out of the community,' she said. 'Housing insecurity was … affecting families' and students' ability to focus on school.' As a result of the intense focus on the issue, Smith, which had a 29% chronic absenteeism rate last year, has seen an about a 15% increase in the number of students with good attendance. 'It's not like we're down to like 10% chronically absent,' Brenneman said. 'But we've hammered away.'
Axios
23-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Atlanta wasn't sold on a Southern Michelin Guide, emails show
Atlanta leaders initially expressed apprehension about lumping the city's Michelin Guide selections with the rest of the South starting next year, according to emails obtained by Axios. Driving the news: Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted obtained emails exchanged among Michelin staffers and tourism officials over the prestigious travel adviser's new focus on geographic regions, not individual cities. Catch up quick: Cities and states across the South will collectively pitch in $1.65 million a year in a three-year contract bringing the Michelin Guide to the region. Caveat: The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which lured Michelin to Atlanta in 2023, is in the final year of its three-year, $300,000-a-year contract with the company. ACVB spokesperson Heather Kirksey told Axios the nonprofit, which is Atlanta's tourism marketing arm, has signed an agreement for 2026 and 2027. The annual payment for those years will reduce to $225,000. Michelin will cover the same geographic area, Kirksey said. The intrigue: Some of the emails make reference to the push and pull among tourism agencies and concerns that some states would outshine others. "Atlanta likes being alone in the South," Liz Bittner of Travel South USA, the marketing agency that helped coordinate the states, said in one of the obtained messages. However, she said that ACVB president William Pate recognized the new regional guide was likely going to happen and was "willing to find a win-win." What's inside: The emails also discuss non-disclosure agreements, "sticky" questions from the public about the agreements, and restaurants that the local tourism agencies think showcase their area's range of cuisine. What they're saying: Kirksey shared the agency's restaurants list with Axios Atlanta. The four-page list is an exhaustive rundown of Atlanta's fine-dining (Bacchanalia) and scrappy upstarts (La Semilla). Atlanta's relationship with Michelin, Kirksey told Axios, has "exceeded our expectations," boosted Atlanta's culinary scene nationally and internationally and even benefited restaurants that didn't receive recognition.
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
North Carolina lands commitment from three-star WR in the Class of 2026
North Carolina lands commitment from three-star WR in the Class of 2026 Bill Belichick and UNC football wasted no time transitioning from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026 in the recruiting cycle. Now, the Tar Heels have secured a commitment form three-star wide receiver from Mississippi, Darrion Kirksey. Before this commitment, Belichick already had eight recruits in the class, led by four-star lineman, Trashawn Ruffin. Kirksey has an 87 ranking on 247Sports. He is the No. 25-ranked player in Mississippi and the No. 125-ranked wide receiver in the class. He was originally supposed to visit Chapel Hill over last weekend but didn't when plans had to change. He has an official visit still scheduled in June, but he chose to commit early anyway. Kirksey caught over 600 receiving yards in his junior year at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Mississippi. He averaged 16.9 yards per reception and 59 yards per game. Kirksey also had offers from top programs like Ole Miss and Arkansas. He is North Carolina's first wide receiver commitment of the class. Kirksey told Chad Simmons at On3, 'I committed to UNC because I love the program, I wanna play for Bill Belichick,' Kirksey told On3. 'It's a better chance to (get to) the NFL. I feel like Belichick is a good coach, I watched him for years, when he's coaching he's hard on you and definitely can make you a better person and prepared for the NFL or anything else.' Kirksey becomes the ninth recruit for Bill Belichick in the Class of 2026 which currently already ranks in the Top 40 in the country, according to On3 Sports rankings. Belichick is well underway to a dynamic class in his first full year recruiting at the high school level. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
