INTERVIEW: Green Bay schools address chronic absenteeism

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum late last month shows more students are not showing up for school in Wisconsin. The report shows chronic absenteeism rose to over 16% from 2017 to 2021. The top 5 school districts in the state saw the greatest increases -- mostly among middle-school students and in schools with a larger share of low-income students or students of color.

Obviously the pandemic plays a major role in the numbers. The Green Bay Area Public School District is one of those top 5. We talked with Associate Director of Public Services Christina Gingle and Management of Student Attendance and Engagement’s Jeason Thomas Sr.

We asked about the causes of chronic absenteeism and also consequences besides the obvious difficulty of passing. We also learned that the effort to change these numbers begins in elementary school.

We also asked about how in-home learning during the pandemic made it harder for some students to come back to the classroom. Watch our full interview above.

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