So, what can states do to support district leaders in their efforts to mitigate this issue? Here are six recommendations school leaders can call upon their state decision-makers to act on:

Publish timely, accurate and comparable data: This will help educators and district leaders understand where action is needed.
Create and promote messaging about the importance of attendance: This is critical post-pandemic as many families have gotten used to their students missing prolonged periods of school.
Build capacity: Create training and professional development materials that schools can use to implement evidence-based approaches to tackling absenteeism.
Embed attendance into pre-existing initiatives: Family engagement, expanded learning and intensive tutoring programs are perfect opportunities for leaders to incorporate strategies designed to target engagement and attendance.
Reduce ineffective punitive responses: Most of the time, punitive approaches do very little to address the underlying cause behind chronic absenteeism. Consider punishment as a last resort.
Enact a tailored action plan based on current data: To determine where action is needed, states can combine data from their state’s stock of existing resources to understand where gaps exist and what priorities must be established to support engagement and attendance.

Instant Insights /

Attendance: Is chronic absenteeism the new normal?

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