The Problem
Academic impact of chronic absenteeism
Common sense tells us that kids can’t learn in class if they aren’t there. Yet too little attention has been paid to the link between attendance and the dropout problem.
Very young children who are frequently absent miss lessons that form the foundation for later learning. Consequently, they may not become proficient readers. The cost is high: poor and minority children with chronic absences in grades 1-4 are at much greater risk of later truancy, academic failure and dropping out.
Without a strong foundation, students often fall farther behind as they move up the grades. Catching up becomes more daunting if failures mount. By high school, students getting multiple Fs often show a pattern of skipping school because they’re giving up.
Our data reveals two urgent realities:
The absentee problem disproportionately affects students from poverty and students of color. District-wide mapping of chronic absenteeism by cluster (meaning a high school and its feeder elementary and middle schools) shows this starkly. See maps for elementary 
, middle , and high school levels. The maps show:
- Schools that largely serve students from poverty and students of color have a markedly greater attendance problem;
- The problem worsens as students move up the grades, affecting notably more students and schools at the high school level.
Fiscal impact of chronic absenteeism
As in most California school districts, SDUSD’s revenue is primarily based on average daily attendance (ADA). The district loses $32 per day for every absent student. Given the ongoing budget crisis, it’s crucial to note that a 1% increase in attendance would translate to an additional $6 million in revenue. These funds would bolster programs for all our students.
Solutions
Solutions require action at the district level, at each school site and by parents and school communities. The first step for all of us is to look at the chronic absentee maps mentioned above and the accompanying school by school listings to understand the magnitude and urgency of SDUSD’s attendance problem.
What the district is doing
Launching an internal attendance campaign in Spring 2009. On February 20 the superintendent sent an email to all principals marking the launch of this campaign, which aims to raise attendance district-wide by 0.5% by June 2009. Each school will make a concentrated effort on following up on every unverified student absence and making contact with the parent or guardian. Support for schools includes extra training for attendance clerks as well as central office help with calls or home visits to families of chronically absent students.
Creating immediate attendance incentives. GAME ON! is a 9th grade attendance incentive program being piloted in five high schools this year. The program gives awards for improved attendance, ranging from passes to the head of the lunch line to iPods. It reaches out to parents to help their child come to school and stay in school. The goal is to implement GAME ON! district-wide in September 2009.
Identifying system problems and creating solutions. A cross-program team has completed an examination of structures and processes across the district. Its recommendations will be finalized in March 2009 and begin to be implemented immediately.
The team focused on key areas and asked specific questions:
- Attendance policies. Are they clear and up to date and do they support practices we know to be effective? In answering these questions, the team will complete its revision of our attendance policies and procedures in March 2009.
- Attendance data monitoring. Are we keeping accurate lists of who is and is not in school? Do we have effective mechanisms for reaching parents and students? Are we using them?
- Prevention and intervention strategies—
- Do we effectively communicate the importance of attendance to families and students?
- Do our counselors have the resources, knowledge, and support to intervene effectively? With parents at the elementary level? With students and parents at the middle and high school levels?
- Are we effectively using intervention tools? For example, by law, California students must be in school until they are 18. Under the law, chronically absent students can be referred to the district’s Student Attendance Review Board (SARB), which can lead to needed services and support for students and families.
- How can we intensify our truancy monitoring efforts to notify parents when students are not in attendance in our schools?
What each school can do
Make attendance a top priority issue. Schools with attendance problems need to highlight the issue and make it everyone’s priority.
Analyze the problems and brainstorm solutions. SDUSD’s Fay Elementary School raised its attendance rate from 95% to 97% in the first three months of the 2008-2009 school year with just such an approach. Staff identified six problems and charted solutions. For example, one problem was that no one was taking proactive steps when a student accumulated too many absences. The solution was ensuring that the attendance clerk was notifying the counselor when she noticed excessive absences and providing the counselor with attendance reports. That led to the counselor’s meeting with parents, explaining the SARB process, and offering assistance and support.
What parents and communities can do
Parents are key to getting kids to school. Parents need to understand clearly that students who miss class, miss out on learning. Across languages and cultures, parents need to hear that higher attendance leads to higher achievement. They need to hear that English learners acquire the language faster when they are in school daily.
Community groups can help spread these messages. Groups can partner with the district, using materials from SDUSD’s Every Day Counts! campaign, available online in several languages and separately tailored for parents of elementary, middle, and high schools. School-community partnerships can also help identify and support parents who need transportation assistance or other kinds of services to ensure their children are in school.
It is also important that parents know that excused absences, for such reasons as vacations, illness, or medical appointments, are nonetheless categorized as absences for purposes of computing average daily attendance. In short, when students are absent, school funding as well as learning suffers.
Resources
Present, Engaged, and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades, by Hedy N. Chang and Mariajosé Romero, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, New York, September 2008.
Strengthening Schools by Strengthening Families: Community Strategies to Reverse Chronic Absenteeism in the Early Grades and Improve Supports for Children and Families , by Kim Nauer, Andrew White and Rajeev Yerneni, The New School, The Center for New York City Affairs, October 2008.
From SDUSD
Every Day Counts! Attendance and enrollment information for parents and community members.
Facts for Parents. A compendium of SDUSD information, including facts about attendance, courses of study, promotion, and graduation.
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