INDIANAPOLIS — The school year is in full swing for students across the states, but school districts are still dealing with a very difficult issue: student attendance.
Before the pandemic, about 8 million U.S. students were considered chronically absent, meaning 15 days or more a year.
A recent study shows that the number doubled to 16 million. We spoke with WTHR education expert Jennifer Brinker from Greenwood Middle School about what parents can do to help and what schools are doing to respond.
Matthew Fultz - WTHR: Mrs. Brinker, how much do you credit the pandemic for exacerbating absenteeism in schools?
Mrs. Brinker: Well, the pandemic did disrupt traditional education in so many ways. Kids had to shift to remote learning or hybrid, which was a challenge for so many students. Those things, along with health concerns and rising mental health issues, have certainly played a large part in this growing problem.
Fultz: We mentioned chronic absenteeism — people probably think about their child being absent some and wonder how big of an impact that actually has — can you speak to this?
Mrs. Brinker: If a child misses two days of school a month, they miss 20 days in a year. If the pattern continues, they miss over a year of school by high school graduation. So while it might sound insignificant at first, it really adds up.
Fultz: So what strategies are schools trying to implement to address this absenteeism?
Mrs. Brinker: Schools are trying to focus on interventions. Those can include mentoring programs, family engagement initiatives, mental health support, and we have been forced to really think outside the box with offering services and flexible days to families. Policymakers could help immensely by investing in schools so that we can hire more counselors and support staff and give personalized attention to students who are struggling.
Fultz: There is only so much schools can do. What can parents do to help with this problem?
Mrs. Brinker: The first thing I would say is to maintain open lines of communication with school. If we don’t know, we can’t help. They might be dealing with housing issues, transportation problems, mental health issues, we can try and problem solve together. I also think that it starts when the child is young with being consistent with expectations and setting a good example yourself with attendance. More and more often, parents are calling in and asking school employees to come get their child out of the car because they won’t come in. They are calling police to ask them to get the child out of bed because they won’t wake up and get ready. These attendance issues are not singular problems. They are often accompanied by mental health issues and unstable home environments. The bottom line is it is a slippery slope and you need to not let it start. Make education a priority, try to get your child involved in school activities, have expectations for performance and keep those lines of communication open.