For many teachers across the country, empty desks were a common sight over the past school year. Attendance, engagement and chronic absenteeism are national issues for all schools and demographics.
In addition, in districts where students already struggled with poverty, generational trauma and other socioeconomic issues, the number of vacant seats only increased and student engagement declined as the year progressed.
According to Attendance Works, almost 28% of students missed at least 10% of scheduled school days in 2022-2023. Re-engaging these students is a complex challenge for schools and requires solutions to answer hard questions like: How do you remove barriers to attendance without adequate resources and what systemic hurdles stand in the way?
Additionally, students’ desire for connection and social media’s influence on students, giving them the perception of instant connections and gratification, poses a challenge in school settings where students’ disconnection within school environments has been increasing.
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To help reverse the chronic absenteeism trend, districts can put into place proven frameworks for rebuilding developmental relationships and learn from districts that have implemented best practices for getting more students back into the classroom and across the graduation stage. Engagement increases when learning is meaningful, either because it connects to a student’s goals and interests or because of a student’s caring connections to those around them. Schools have the power to increase meaningful connections.
Rebuilding connections with students, peers and staff
School connectedness is a key protective factor for students, resulting in higher grades, attendance and graduation rates. Unfortunately, students’ lack of meaningful relationships with teachers and classmates is helping drive the chronic absenteeism crisis.
To combat attendance issues in K12, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia launched a mentorship program as part of its 2023-2030 strategic plan. In this program, students at risk are identified and provided a trusted mentor they meet with for 30 minutes each week. Since the launch, absenteeism has dropped by half in its elementary schools. This approach to rebuilding connection with our most disconnected students is essential for re-engagement.
One effective way of identifying those students who need immediate intervention in developing formative relationships is by visually mapping connections between students, teachers and staff through a “dot project” analysis. Students are tasked with placing a dot next to the names or photos of the adults they feel connected to, and educators also identify students with whom they have relationships. Schools can immediately spot connection gaps and, when cross-referenced with attendance records, categorize those students who require extra support through mentorships with trusted adults.
Finding ways to better understand students’ perception of connection to those in their environment and creating a plan for increasing those connections can improve engagement by creating meaning within the school walls.
Understanding the needs of the whole child and family
Ensuring an education program is truly transformative requires understanding the needs of the whole child and family. That understanding takes more than a superficial approach to identifying and addressing attendance trends—it requires a deep dive to identify the reasons behind them so the intervention focuses on the need driving the behavior.
Getting to know caregivers and families is important. Even when caregivers are heavily involved in their student’s education, most are unaware of the impact attendance has on their progress. A recent study found that many parents underreport their student’s absences, and almost half of parents with children at risk of chronic absenteeism were unconcerned about the problem.
With the myriad of needs on their plates, school attendance can feel less urgent. Data in the study noted things like sleep routines, online academic resources, prioritizing jobs for income and school attendance anxiety as reasons for diminished concern around attendance.
In Marlborough Public Schools in Massachusetts, 30.7% of students were chronically absent in 2023. To slow the tide, the district created attendance teams in each school that worked directly with families to address root causes, such as food insecurity and mental health issues, so basic needs could be met. In addition, alternative learning was available to students who had to care for younger siblings or work to support their families.
Positive reinforcement also engages families by spotlighting their student’s progress. Teachers in the Fairfax School District, for instance, were eager to share “great news” phone calls with their families to spotlight their students’ achievements in the classroom, which in turn, prompted greater engagement with the parents.
Building relationships with families gives educators insights into how to create connections with students and to help them stay engaged in learning.
Meet students where and how they learn
In the rush to help students catch up with their classmates, remediation has long centered on conventional approaches, such as drills, repetition and recall, and other time-on-task pedagogy, all of which deactivate the networks of the brain responsible for inspiration, motivation, and engagement.
When students are agents in their education, they can determine the pace and path of their learning. Schools then provide an immersive learning environment attuned to their needs, and students are empowered to take greater responsibility for their success. Classroom instruction and digital learning platforms that promote real-world applications of concepts, active learning activities and self-exploration of academic interests productively engage students in their coursework.
Striking that balance between connectedness with coursework and students’ learning autonomy is critical to academic self-efficacy. We want students to be emotionally invested in staying in school to reflect on their progress and if they need to be absent, we want to increase their drive to return to the classroom sooner.
At East High School in Rochester, New York, students were involved in planning new pilot programs when the school partnered with the University of Rochester in 2015. Based on discussions with students, teachers and parents, Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy was integrated into the curriculum.
Additionally, the school partnered with local community service organizations, parents and community members to support the larger challenges students faced beyond the school walls. Over the next eight years, attendance and engagement rates improved and graduation rates rose from 33% to 85%. The school listened to what was meaningful to students and found ways to integrate it into curriculum and resources.
Our cultural reliance on technology for connection, a sense from students that in person schooling is not required for success, as well as ongoing social challenges, continues to make it difficult for students to see the value of attendance. “Our relationship with school became optional,” said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University.
By rebuilding relationships with students and families to define and achieve shared goals, setting solid expectations and using edtech as a tool to personalize education and free up teachers from certain tasks so they have time to build these connections, districts can help students rediscover and embrace their love of learning.
