Date & Time: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 2 p.m. ET
A recent combination of data reveals critical inflection points that districts leaders can use to strengthen climate, improve attendance, and prevent chronic absenteeism. Together with non-profit YouthTruth’s new research on student experience and school safety data, SchoolStatus’ analysis of 2024-25 attendance patterns across 172 districts and insights from 3 million school-to-family messages sheds light on new warning signs every district should know.
In this 30-minute Ed Talk, Dr. Jennifer de Forest, Director of Research and Learning at YouthTruth, and Dr. Kara Stern, Director of Education at SchoolStatus, will review the evidence and share effective strategies your district can implement right away.
Bonus: Attendees who join the live event will be able to participate in a ThoughtExchange workshop to share and rank either the best practices or challenges from their peers on chronic absenteeism.***
Key Takeaways
- The Best Times for Effective Interventions: When intervention has the greatest impact and the grade bands where urgency is highest
- Bullying’s Impact on Attendance: The shifts in belonging, bullying, and safety that shape student connection across grade levels
- Deploying Timely Supports: Strengthen climate, improve attendance, and respond effectively when early signals appear
- ***Live 5-minute Workshop: Audience participation will generate reports showing the common ground and differences among district leaders, the summary of highest and lowest rated best practices, the top themes, potential next steps, and a SWOT analysis
Speakers
Jennifer de Forest, Director of Research and Learning, YouthTruth (non-profit)
Dr. Kara Stern, Director of Education, SchoolStatus
Sponsored by
