\n\n“Some of the latest absenteeism data reveals the staggering impact the pandemic has had on student attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the pandemic, during the 2015\u201316 school year, an estimated 7.3 million students were<\/a> deemed \u201cchronically absent,\u201d meaning they had missed at least three weeks of school in an academic year. (According to the US Department of Education, there were 50.33 million<\/a> K-12 students that year.) After the pandemic, the number of absent students has almost doubled<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronic absenteeism increased in every state where data was made public, and in Washington, DC, between the last pre-pandemic school year, 2018\u201319, and the 2021\u201322 school year, according to data<\/a> from Future Ed, an education think tank. Locations with the highest increases saw their rates more than double.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Experts point to deeper issues, some that have long troubled students and schools and others that are only now apparent in the aftermath of school shutdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you see these high levels of chronic absence, it\u2019s a reflection that the positive conditions of learning that are essential for motivating kids to show up to school have been eroded,\u201d said Hedy Chang, the founder and executive director of Attendance Works, an organization that tracks attendance data and helps states address chronic absenteeism. \u201cIt\u2019s a sign that kids aren\u2019t feeling physically and emotionally healthy and safe. Belonging, connection, and support \u2014 in addition to the academic challenge and engagement and investments in student and adult well-being \u2014 are all so crucial to positive conditions for learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite increased attention to the topic, chronic absenteeism is not exactly new \u2014 until recently, it was considered a \u201chidden educational crisis<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis has been an ongoing issue and it didn\u2019t just all of a sudden appear because the pandemic arose. Folks have been trying to address this issue for years,\u201d said Joshua Childs, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies absenteeism interventions in communities and states. \u201cIt\u2019s historically mainly impacted students from disadvantaged communities and underserved populations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s new about chronic absenteeism is that it now affects students from a variety of demographic backgrounds, from those in the suburbs and rural areas to those in cities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The root causes of chronic absenteeism are vast. Poverty, illness, and a lack of child care<\/a> and social services remain contributors to poor attendance, and some communities continue to struggle with transportation<\/a> challenges; the pandemic has brought on a youth mental health<\/a> crisis that has caused students to miss school; parents have reframed how they think about illness, ready to keep their children home at the slightest signs of sickness.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n