"Everybody has a role in being part of our kid's lives here while they're in the school," says Sham Bevel, a principal in Virginia Beach. "[Kids] want to be here. They know we care."
In nearly half (41%) of the most economically disadvantaged school districts, three-fourths of their schools reported "extreme" levels of chronic absence, a new analysis suggests.
The tremendous linguistic diversity present in our school communities necessitates intentional support to facilitate ongoing communication and trusted partnerships.
In Colorado, just this fall, state officials said almost a third of students are chronically absent. The number has gone up significantly since the pandemic and schools are struggling to figure out how to get kids to return to classes.
K12 leaders looking to form closer connections with parents, families and communities should think of their outreach efforts as a blend of one- and two-way communications.
Rarely are demographic breakdowns of students or communities a part of the discussions when leaders consider closing schools. Academic impacts are also often absent from the debate, one expert asserts.
New data shows, for the first time at this level of detail, how much students' standardized test scores rise with their parents' incomes—and how disparities start years before students sit for tests.
