Addressing Chronic Absenteeism in Elementary School

As elementary school leaders in New Jersey, we know firsthand that student attendance directly impacts academic progress, social and emotional outcomes, and long-term success. Our district became concerned with the decrease in student attendance before, during, and after the pandemic, and focused our collective attention on specific evidence-based actions to make a difference. Chronic absenteeism, or a student missing 10 percent or more of the school year, has nearly doubled, rising from 16 percent before the pandemic to nearly 30 percent by the 2021–22 school year. In New Jersey, this translates to 18 or more unexcused absences, which raises great concern for the student’s academic and social well-being.

Our campaign to address chronic absenteeism, called “Every Day Counts,” was formed across 24 schools in the Hamilton Township School District, in partnership with the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. We started with our home-grown school-based teams, which we refer to as “Be There.” The teams attended a series of professional learning sessions that equipped them to take action toward improving student attendance and to revise their perspective about why students might be missing school.

CreatE a Welcoming, Safe, and Supportive Environment

Effective leaders know that a positive culture and climate is the bread and butter of any new initiative and where we focus our initial attention. It was simple; we wanted our students to be excited about coming to school every day. We lead by example, knowing that every interaction with a student is an opportunity to build a positive relationship.

Monthly climate team meetings were nonnegotiable; we reviewed climate survey data, created SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals, and developed specific action steps. The mission and vision came to life throughout the schools in our district and established a positive culture for everyone.

Monthly themes, schoolwide read-alouds in all classrooms, family projects, staff recognition, student assemblies, restorative practices, strengthening our counseling program, and family engagement were all part of the plan. Our efforts led to four of our elementary schools being recognized as New Jersey State Schools of Character and National Schools of Character.

Understand Attendance Data and Partner with the Community

We placed major emphasis on cleaning up and understanding our attendance data. The interventions’ efficacy can only be achieved with accurate data. We created and disseminated common data reports each month to maintain focus on attendance during day-to-day operations. Teams met regularly to analyze the data, ensuring identification of and remediation for specific students in addition to schoolwide interventions.

In addition to attendance data, community partnerships are key to a thriving school environment. Although often overlooked, community members such as team coaches could be helpful in efforts to increase school attendance. If the football coach insists that a student needs to be in school to determine weekend playing time, the student is more likely to attend.

We established successful partnerships with local organizations, such as the YMCA, Catholic Youth Organization, community centers, and county and state organizations to provide services and support for mental health, health care, financial aid, and food as needed. Often, without our even realizing it, students are chronically absent because of a crisis they’re experiencing at home.

Increase Communication with Families

Our Be There teams intentionally increased communication with families about the importance of students’ attending school daily. We hosted family engagement events, including our “Attendance Is Not a Game” game night, where families enjoyed board games while learning quick, practical facts about the importance of consistent student attendance. Schools in the district published student-led videos celebrating what kids loved about their school and why they should attend every day.

Communication was sent in multiple languages, using a variety of methods—ClassDojo, Facebook, newsletters, infographics, phone calls, and in-person conferences. Our goal was to build relationships with families, promoting awareness of the importance of attending school and supporting their needs along the way.

In addition to having building-level communication with families, attendance letters from the district were sent at three, six, and nine days. This became a consistent strategy to raise families’ awareness. Principals personalized them when appropriate—for example, acknowledging a student’s recent illness while still highlighting the cumulative total. For many families, seeing cumulative absence numbers is a necessary wake-up call to improve student attendance.

PRovide Early Outreach and Tiered Interventions

Our major priority was to identify students early before they became chronically absent. To help make that happen, we regularly analyzed data and implemented a tiered approach to identify students.

A Tier 1 intervention includes a personal phone call from a trusted staff member for each absence. For students who have accumulated six to nine absences, Tier 2 interventions include phone calls, in-person conferences, home visits, and an individualized student plan, assigning an in-building buddy (someone who can connect with the student, celebrate successes, and make them want to come to school). If a student accumulates 10 or more absences, our attendance team takes an aggressive approach and utilizes Tier 3 interventions by partnering with our district truancy office, Homeless Liaison, and/or New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency.

Understand Your State and Local Policies

An important part of this journey was to ensure that we clearly understood state regulations for student attendance and reflected them in our district policy, which ultimately translated to daily protocols within our schools. For example, what is the difference between an excused and unexcused absence? Under the New Jersey administrative code, there are only seven approved reasons for an excused absence, so we needed to code attendance correctly in our student data system.

Student attendance is a key component of a school’s performance in New Jersey and a major component of state accountability systems across the country. Addressing attendance benefits students and increases your school’s performance rating. It’s important to ensure compliance with regulations about reporting excused versus unexcused absences.

Student attendance is about more than getting the students in the door. Creating a positive, inclusive, uplifting environment for students and staff is the first step in addressing chronic absenteeism. From there, take steps to collect and analyze data effectively, support struggling students, and foster relationships with families.