Multipronged approach necessary to combat rising student absences

Last week, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) released a troubling report regarding the staggering number of chronic absences among Hoosier students. According to the IDOE, one in five students missed at least 10% of school days during the 2022-2023 school year. There is an inverse correlation between absenteeism and academic achievement. When our students miss school, they lose out on valuable learning opportunities and skill-building. We cannot teach them if they are not present. The long-term consequences of chronic absenteeism cannot be ignored. Aside from just lower test scores, chronically absent students are more likely to experience future poverty, poor health, and even involvement with the criminal justice system. We can effectively attack absenteeism if we are intentional. The question is what do we want and how badly do we want it? If we want it badly enough, we can reduce absenteeism. Addressing this issue takes a methodical, multipronged collaboration between parents, school staff, building leaders and students to ensure our children are present and poised for success in school.

Data for Indiana shows a 21% increase in chronic student absences, an upsetting escalation for our state. I am more so deeply troubled by the amount of chronic absenteeism among students in our Gary schools, which is a part of my legislative district. Data from IDOE demonstrates that two thirds of students in the Gary Community School Corporation were chronically absent during the 2022 – 2023 year. Furthermore, Bailly Middle School and West Side Leadership Academy were the top two schools with the highest numbers of chronically absent students, with a staggering 90% and 87% of students respectively. Except for Bethune Early Childhood Development Center, no schools in the district were below 53% in absenteeism.

Research from the IDOE early learning dashboard shows that Indiana students with less than a 94% rate of attendance experience negative academic impacts. In alignment with the research unfortunately, Gary students have some of the lowest standardized testing scores in the state. Statewide, despite the evidence showing the importance of students being in school, only 60% of Hoosier students have an attendance rate of 94% or higher.

The State Board of Education stated that African American, Hispanic, Native American and multiracial students, as well as English-learners and low-income students, experience the highest rates of chronic absenteeism. Gary schools have a population of nearly 90% African American students. Three-fourths of students are on free or reduced meal plans. Our students are particularly vulnerable, and we must act now.

During my 20 years as a practicing school principal, I used a multipronged approach in addressing absenteeism. The first piece is fostering an inviting environment/climate for students. The various schools that I have worked with over my career have proven that it is possible to create an environment where kids not only show up, but desire to come to school. Some students I worked with even expressed disappointment to their parents when they had to stay home for an illness. Esteemed author and researcher William Purkey has a number of works on invitational education that I found to be helpful when implementing this approach. 

The second part of the approach is intentionally curating an engaging curriculum. When students are eagerly anticipating what comes next, it leaves a sense of excitement that makes coming to school in the morning a positive endeavor. To achieve this, educators should make the curriculum relevant to students.  A curriculum that fosters students’ use of effective practices will engage students in authentic tasks that allow them to see how practices are used in the real world. When practices are included in learning targets and consistently used with students, students learning becomes more meaningful and they develop a cognitive tool they can use independently from the teacher.  Engaging curriculums offer deep thinking.  A curriculum that addresses deep thinking will include curriculum-embedded performance assessments like project-based learning, place-based learning, and service learning. Finally, engaging curriculums recognize and honor the individualized attributes of students (culture, race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity) and eliminate practices that prevent students from reaching their full potential. 

Third, instruction should be tailored to the student population. All children learn differently. When it comes to Hispanic and Black students, incorporating motor learning and music into the classroom can help engagement and retention of information. Studies have shown that minority children in particular benefit from having a physically involved classroom experience. Putting significant information into music has been found to increase recall, which ultimately improves learning outcomes.

Collaborating with parents is the next component. There should be a partnership between the school and parents so that they become a team member in trying to improve the attendance of their children. In some cases, parents face obstacles that prevent them from helping their kids get to school in the morning such as having to leave for work early. Preparing the night before by pre-packing lunches, laying out clothes the night before, and getting their backpacks ready are all useful solutions.  Also, when parents monitor the attendance of their child(ren), it makes a positive difference.

The fifth prong is getting to the root of tardiness thus eliminating excuses. To do this, educators and administrators must communicate directly with students. Ask the question, what is preventing you from getting to school on time?  In my experience students noted that an adult is not present to wake them up.  In response, we purchased 50 alarm clocks and taught the students how to set them. Some indicated that five people in their home needed to shower in the morning.  We encouraged students to bath or shower the night before. Finally, we encouraged students that when they wake up late, strive to come on to school on time.  Our recommendation was to just get yourself out the door and deal with your hygiene needs at school. We provided face cloths, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, combs, and hair products for them to use before going to their classrooms.  While these solutions aren’t all-encompassing, it’s the concept of working with individual students to eliminate excuses that helps.

Finally, for students who don’t yet have intrinsic motivation when it comes to education, offering incentives for good attendance can yield significant results. Children don't usually have a sense of delayed gratification, so receiving awards periodically throughout the year can bolster motivation extrinsically. Each month, we would reward the class at each level with the best attendance with a pizza or ice cream party.  This incentive was effective because positive peer pressure was used to motivate classmates to be present and to arrive on time. At the end of each quarter, we offered ribbons and certificates.  Halfway through the year, we presented trophies for perfect attendance, and at the end of the year, we offered a list of larger prizes to choose from.

A good education provides stability in life, and it's something that no one can ever take away from you. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance.  Each day absent is a missed opportunity for children to learn something they will need to understand more difficult material later. Education is like building a building; if you miss a floor and try to add additional floors on top of the missing floor, the building is going to topple over. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Attendance is an important life skill that will help children graduate from college and keep a job.

The first major step towards improving academic performance is to improve attendance.  This can be done by making good attendance a goal for all stakeholders.  The next major step is to make the curriculum engaging and instruction effective. The final major step is to motivate student to pursue perfect attendance.  I want our children to succeed in school and be prepared for life. Research is not an end; it is a means to an end.  The end goal should be improved attendance.  No more excuses!  With all stakeholders working together, we can put an end to this onslaught of absences negatively impacting Hoosier students.