Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding education and the effects that quarantine had on students’ learning, and one issue at the front of many school administrators’ minds when it comes to these discussions is chronic absenteeism.
Tammy Pearce, the supervisor of student support for Johnson City Schools, shared why attendance and truancy are of such concern to her and other school administrators. She said that “chronic absenteeism” is the term used when a student has missed 10% or more of enrolled instructional days- regardless of whether those absences were excused or unexcused or the result of suspensions or expulsions.
In a 180 day school year, this means students can miss no more than eighteen days before they fall into chronic absenteeism.
“The state holds school districts and individual schools accountable for specific measures, and one of those is chronic absenteeism,” she explained. “When students are out of school, they miss instruction. And research has shown that the 10% threshold is kind of where we start seeing negative academic consequences and kids start falling behind.”
Pearce said that she has seen students fall into chronic absenteeism for a variety of reasons that often depend on the student’s grade level and home environment. Sometimes students miss school due to illness, transportation issues, transiency and complications from moving or other various socio-emotional factors.
“A lot of kids and families are trying their best to get to school- there are just sometimes things that are out of their control,” she said. “That’s where if they’ll just communicate with us, we want to try to help them be able to get to school and be successful no matter what the situation is.”
Pearce said that she and other administrators throughout the district very much want the students to be present and successful in school, and so they will do everything in their power to help students and families make that happen. Johnson City Schools have many programs and opportunities in place to try to address students’ needs and make sure that they are able to be in the classroom as much as possible.
Each school has a regular clinic as well as a mental health clinic to help address any physical, mental or emotional concerns that pull students away from class. Additionally, the schools offer the Virtual Academy and homebound program to students who would benefit from those alternative learning routes. Pearce explained that following a doctor’s recommendation, students are able to enroll in the homebound program which allows a teacher to go into the student’s home to give academic instruction.
Finally, the schools also offer various after-school tutoring and summer programs as well as classes at Topper Academy to help get students back on track after they have lost significant instruction time due to chronic absenteeism. However, in many cases it is far easier for the schools to address issues and barriers before this point is reached.
One of the biggest ways that school administrators like Peace do this is by fostering positive relationships with students and their families. However, in order to do this, students and their families need to meet the schools halfway and show up to have these discussions. Through open communication, school administrators are able to help identify the barriers to student attendance and then connect the families with free community resources that can meet their needs.
“We want to make sure their needs are met,” said Pearce. “We want to make sure that they’re safe and they’re emotionally and mentally secure as well as academically secure. We want to make sure that the whole child is successful and we will take whatever steps we can to do that.”
Pearce said that oftentimes when students get to the high school level, they realize that they need to attend class so that they can earn the credits they need to graduate. In the lower grades though, it is essential that the students are in school so that they can acquire the basic skills that they will need to succeed in high school. Sometimes the most challenging thing, Pearce said, is helping parents understand that even excused absences can count against their child after a certain point.
Pearce said that any parents or guardians who have questions or concerns about chronic absenteeism or their child’s attendance are more than welcome to reach out to her office to talk. The office of attendance and student services can be reached at (423) 434-5219, and more information is available on their website https://www.jcschools.org/Administration2/20.
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