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R EPO R T

Pesent, Enae, an Accunte FTe Critical Importance of Addressing

Chronic Absence in the Early Grades

Hedy N. Chang | Mariajos Romero September 2008


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The Natinal Cente f Chilen in Pvety (NCCP) is the natins leain public

plicy cente eicate t pmtin the ecnmic secuity, health, an well-bein

f Ameicas lw-incme families an chilen. Fune in 1989 as a ivisin f

the Mailman Schl f Public Health at Clumbia Univesity, NCCP is a nnpatisan,

public inteest eseach anizatin.

PrESENT, ENgAgEd ANd ACCoUNTEd ForThe Citical Imptance f Aessin Chnic Absence in the Ealy gaesHedy N. Chang with Mariajos Romero, PhD

Authors

Hedy Nai-Lin Chang, is a researcher, writer and acilitator dedi-cated to promoting two- generational approaches to endingpoverty that help amilies achieve greater economic security andensure their children succeed in school. She consults with theAnnie E. Casey Foundation, along with a variety o other non-prots, oundations and government agencies.

Mariajos Romero, PhD, is senior research associate at NCCP,where her research ocuses on the educational consequences ochild poverty and issues o respect or diversity and social inclu-sion in early education.

Acknowledgements

This report was unded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Wethank them or their support but acknowledge that the ndings andconclusions presented in this report are those o the authors alone,and do not necessarily refect the opinions o the Foundation.We would also like to recognize the invaluable contributions oseveral individuals at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. A catalyticand inspirational orce, Ralph Smith deserves credit or helping allo us recognize that chronic early absence is a potentially criticaland overlooked issue deserving greater examination. Cindy Guyis deeply appreciated or her ongoing guidance and support,

especially with conceptualizing and carrying out the local re-search, which also beneted rom the superb data skills o EdwinQuiambao. This work was greatly enhanced by the hard worko AECF consultant, Jeanne Jehl who helped to rene early dratsand solicit eedback rom colleagues.

Charlie Bruner and his sta at the Child and Family PolicyProject have been outstanding partners and colleagues oeringsignicant contributions to the report content, data analysis andliterature review while also serving as a scal home or projectoperations.

The analysis o local data was made possible through the hardwork and thoughtul participation o several research partnersincluding the Urban Institute, the National Neighborhood Indica-tors Partnership, the National Center or School Engagement,and Metis Associates.

In February 2008, a consultative session was held to discuss adrat o this brie and the implications o our ndings or research,policy and practice. We deeply appreciate the rich insightsoered by the participants: Erika Beltran, Marty Blank, CindyBrown, Charlie Bruner, Frank Farrow, Ayeola Fortune, LindaGrobman, Janice Gruendal, Janis Hagey, Lisa Kane, Maryclaire

Knight, Linda Manning, Ruth Mayden, Vicky Marchand, RuthMayden, Quentina Miller-Fields, Andy Plasky, Valerie Salley,Nina Sazer ODonnell, Ken Seeley, Fasaha Traylor, and JuniousWilliams. In addition, we would like to especially recognizethe work o colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Robert Balanz, JoyceEpstein and Steve Sheldon, whose research has substantiallyinormed our work. Although we cannot list all o their names,we would like to express our sincere thanks to the many otherresearchers, practitioners, unders and advocates, who have inthe course o this eort, shared a wealth o inormation aboutrelevant research, promising practices and related educationalpolicies.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organiza-tion dedicated to helping build better utures or disadvantaged

children in the United States. It was established in 1948 by JimCasey, one o the ounders o UPS, and his siblings, who namedthe Foundation in honor o their mother. The primary mission othe Foundation is to oster public policies, human-service reorms,and community supports that more eectively meet the needs otodays vulnerable children and amilies. In pursuit o this goal,the Foundation makes grants that help states, cities, and neigh-borhoods ashion more innovative, cost-eective responses tothese needs. For more inormation, visit the Foundations websiteat www.aec.org.

Copyright 2008 by the National Center or Children in Poverty


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National Center for Children in Poverty Present, Engaged, and Accounted For 3

Pesent, Enae, an Accunte FTe Critical Importance of Addressing

Chronic Absence in the Early Grades

Hedy N. Chang | Mariajos Romero September 2008

What do we mean by chronic early absence?

ci ab ii a x pi b x a x ab a a ia. giv iia ipa i v aipiay i ay ya, biv i i ipa allab. w iiay i ab,ba qy , ay, y x ab a iapppia baviqii a piiv p. ra a bai i, a ba aa a ii x pi b a ay i i i , iy a p apppia ay ivi.mv, i a 5, 6 7 ya a, y a iy b ab i i pa .

w i i ab a ii 10 p ya (qiva 18 ay a 180ay ya) a ab a x x. I i i i i i a k-3,i i i earlyab. A a a a iia vay, pp i ii i a by naia c ci i Pvy a i v ab i ya a aia i aai pa i bq a.

At the core o school improvement and educationreorm is an assumption so widely understood thatit is rarely invoked: students have to be present andengaged in order to learn. Tat is why the discovery

that thousands o our youngest students areacademically at-risk because o extended absenceswhen they rst embark upon their school careersis as remarkable as it is consequential. Schools andcommunities have a choice: we can work togetherearly on to ensure amilies get their children to classconsistently or we can pay later or ailing to inter-vene beore problems are more dicult and costlyto ameliorate.

Schools have served our country well as gateways tomore opportunity or children. What happens whenchildren rst enter school deeply aects whether thisopportunity is realized. During the early elementaryyears, children are gaining basic social and academicskills critical to ongoing academic success. Unlessstudents attain these essential skills by third grade,they require extra help to catch up and are at graverisk or eventually dropping out o school.

Common sense and research suggest that being inschool consistently is important to ensuring childrengain a strong oundation or subsequent learning.

Research shows that children, regardless o gender,socioeconomic status or ethnicity, lose out whenthey are chronically absent (that is, they miss nearlya month o school or more over the course o ayear). Children chronically absent in kindergartenshow lower levels o achievement in math, readingand general knowledge during rst grade. Going toschool regularly in the early years is especially crit-ical or children rom amilies living in poverty, who

are less likely to have the resources to help childrenmake up or lost time in the classroom. Among poor

children, chronic absence in kindergarten predictsthe lowest levels o educational achievement at theend o h grade.

When chronic early absence occurs, everyone pays.Te educational experiences o children who attendschool regularly can be diminished when teachersmust divert their attention to meet the learningand social needs o children who miss substantial

Intuctin


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amounts o school. By working together to ensureall children attend school consistently, schools andcommunities make it more possible or teachers toteach and children to learn.

School attendance reects the degree to whichschools, communities and amilies adequatelyaddress the needs o young children. Attendanceis higher when schools provide a rich, engaginglearning experience, have stable, experienced andskilled teachers and actively engage parents in theirchildrens education. Chronic absence decreaseswhen schools and communities actively communi-cate consistently to all students and their parents,and reach out to amilies when their children beginto show patterns o excessive absence. Attendancesuers when amilies are struggling to keep upwith the routine o school despite the lack o reli-

able transportation, long work hours in poorly paidjobs with little exibility, unstable and unaord-able housing, inadequate health care and escalatingcommunity violence. At the same time, communitiescan help lower chronic absence by providing earlychildhood experiences that help prepare childrenand amilies or the entry into ormal education.

Variations in these school, neighborhood andamily conditions are reected in tremendous dier-ences in the prevalence o chronic early absenceacross communities. While national data show that

chronic early absence aects an estimated one outo every 10 children during their rst two years oschool, data collected rom nine urban localities(eight school districts and one region within a larger

school district) revealed signicant variations.Across the districts, chronic early absence rangedrom aecting only about one out o 20 childrento nearly one out o our students in grades K-3.Ranges can be even greater within districts. Forexample, in one locality, prevalence at individualschools ranged rom one to more than 50 percent oK through third graders.

Although chronic early absence can be a signi-cant issue or particular schools and even entireschool districts, it has largely been overlooked. TeUnited States does not have a mechanism in placeto ensure that schools across the country monitorand report on levels o chronic early absence. TeFederal No Child Le Behind Act began requiringstates to dene and report data on truancy in 2006,but there is no provision regarding chronic early

absence. Elementary schools oen track averagedaily attendance or unexcused absences (truancy),

but ew monitor the combination o excused andunexcused absence or individual students. Highoverall school wide attendance rates can easily masksignicant numbers o chronically absent students.While a growing interest in state data systems withuniversal student identiers creates an opportunityto collect such data systematically, many districtshave yet to develop the data capacity or trackingabsences or individual students. As a result, manyschool districts do not know the extent to which

chronic early absence is a problem in any or all otheir schools.

Tis report seeks to raise awareness o the criticalimportance o chronic early absence, synthesizeavailable data on the scope o the challenge, andshare emerging insights about how schools andcommunities can use chronic early absence toidentiy and address challenges aecting the social,educational and physical well-being o children andtheir amilies beore problems become intractable.While parents are responsible or getting their

children to school every day, schools and commu-nities need to recognize and address the barriersand challenges that may inhibit them rom doingso, especially when they are living in poverty. Largenumbers o chronically absent students could indi-cate systemic problems that aect the quality o theeducational experience and/or the healthy unc-tioning o the entire community.

How Can Elementary School Daily Attendance Rates MaskSignifcant Levels o Chronic Absence?

ci ab i aiy a by aa aii,v ava aiy aa appa aivy i.spp, xap, a a 200 a a ava

aiy aa a 95%. A i a, 10 a ab ay iv ay i 190 a p. t a 10 ,v, a ab a 180 ay y b i-. ra, i i qi pib a 10 iia ay ba i vi 60 a ai bi ab b i ab a a, i a v ya. I ay, v i a i 95% aiy a-a, 30% ppai b iay ab.


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Tis report is based upon the ndings o appliedresearch carried out with support rom the AnnieE. Casey Foundation. Activities included secondaryanalyses o data rom the Early Childhood Longi-tudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K)conducted by the National Center or Children inPoverty (NCCP), analysis o local data on studentattendance patterns, a review o relevant litera-ture, and inormation oered by practitioners,researchers, and unders about promising practicesand programs. Aer describing the key compo-nents o this applied research project, this reportaddresses what is known to date rom this inquiryabout the ollowing key questions:

n What is the impact and prevalence o chronicearly absence?Chronic absence in kinder-garten has an immediate impact on academicperormance or all children, especially Latino

students. Te long-term consequences aremost signicant or poor children. While notan issue in all communities, chronic earlyabsence can reach high levels district-wide aswell as within schools, even when levels arerelatively low district-wide.

n What contributes to chronic early absence?When chronic early absence occurs, wepropose considering the extent to whichschools, amilies and communities might playa contributing role. Oen more than one actor

is at play simultaneously. Since conditionscan vary substantially, the particular actors

contributing to chronic early absence shouldbe assessed or each school and community.Gaining clarity about the actors that lead tochronic absence is critical to developing eec-tive solutions. Open deliberation and explora-tion about the relevant risk actors can help laya stronger oundation or the development oappropriate solutions.

n What are implications or action?School dis-tricts throughout the United States need to beable to monitor whether and to what extentchronic early absence is a relevant problem inany or all schools based upon a common de-nition. I levels are signicant, schools shouldpartner with community agencies and ami-lies to understand and address the actors con-tributing to early absence in particular schoolsor populations. Strong, ongoing partnerships

among schools, amilies and community agen-cies to implement comprehensive approachesover time are critical to ensuring all childrenhave the opportunity to attend school every day.

We hope that a wide variety o readers workingin related elds including, or example, earlychildhood education, education reorm, drop-outprevention, amily support, and child and commu-nity health will nd this inormation meaninguland relevant. We invite policymakers, practitioners,researchers, and unders to consider integrating

attention to chronic early absence into research,policy and practices related to their own agendas.

Hw di We Stuy Chnic Ealy Absence?

o deepen our understanding o the consequences,risk actors and potential strategies or addressingchronic early absence, this project, which started in theall o 2006, has engaged in a mix o research activities.Tese included: (a) a new analysis o national data;(b) an examination o local attendance patterns innine school districts; (c) a literature review; and(d) telephone interviews as well as electronicexchanges with practitioners and researchers withpast experience addressing chronic early absence.

National Data Analysis

o paint a national picture o how this issue plays outacross the country, the National Center or Childrenin Poverty (NCCP) examined data on chronic early

absence rom the Early Childhood LongitudinalStudy, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). Te ECLS-K,which is conducted by the National Center orEducational Statistics, U.S. Department o Educa-tion, includes data on childrens development, amilycharacteristics and unctioning, as well as theirschool environments, collected rom a national sam-ple o 21,260 children rom the time they enteredkindergarten in 1998 until they reached h grade.1


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ECLS-K data were collected in kindergarten, rst,third, and h grade. Data on school attendance inthe ECLS-K were gathered rom school administra-tive records. For the purposes o this study, onlychildren with complete absenteeism data (that is,number o days absent in all grades) were selected.Using this longitudinal data set, NCCP examinedcharacteristics and academic perormance orstudents with dierent levels o absences in a schoolyear: 0-


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and a host o possible risk actors (or instance,chronic health problems, early childhood experi-ences, involvement in child welare, participation inpublic assistance, etc.); and (c) studies or programevaluations describing eective strategies orimproving attendance or reducing chronic absence.In addition to seeking out evaluations o programsor practices explicitly designed to aect chronicabsence, we also sought out research examiningthe impact on school attendance o other types oprograms (early home visiting, preschool, aer-school programs, asthma management, etc.).

Information Exchanges with Practitioners,Researchers and Funders

In order to ensure that this work was inormed byavailable research and grounded by the experiences

o existing programs, the project manager, HedyChang, contacted more than 100 practitioners,trainers, researchers and unders working in relatedelds (or instance, early care and education, K-12education, childrens health, welare reorm, childwelare, substance abuse) to nd out i they wereamiliar with the issue o chronic early absence,relevant research or promising programs andpractices or improving attendance. Group e-mailinquiries were also sent out to Head Start Directors,Public Education Network members, grantmakersunding in Early Childhood and statewide amilysupport organizations. In addition to supporting theliterature review, these contacts led to the identica-tion o relevant program models or which in-depthinterviews were held. Descriptions o several prom-ising programs appear in Appendix B.

What is the impact an pevalence f chnic ealy absence?

Chronic early absence matters because regularschool attendance is important or academic peror-mance and extended absenteeism can aect signi-cant numbers o young children during their earliestyears o school.

Chronic early absence aects substantial numberso children nationwide and is even more problem-atic in some districts and schools.According tothe analysis by NCCP, over 11 percent o children inkindergarten and almost nine percent in rst gradeare chronically absent. Chronic absence ell to sixpercent among third graders.3 Researchers note,however, that these estimates are probably conser-vative, since attendance data are missing more oenrom schools serving low-income and minoritystudents than rom those serving more auentstudents in the ECLS-K study, and low income

students tend to have more absences.

Prevalence o chronic early absence varied mark-edly across the nine localities studied, ranging romaecting one out o 20 to almost one out o ourstudents enrolled in grades K-3.4 Chronic earlyabsence can be much higher in particular schoolsthan district-wide. For example, the incidence ochronic early absence ranged rom one percent

to 54.5 percent across schools in a district whereprevalence was 13.8 percent overall.

Especially when chronic absence reaches highlevels, it is also important to consider the likelydetrimental impact caused by the constant disrup-

tion to the learning environment or regularlyattending peers, and the impact o unpredictableclassroom dynamics on teachers working condi-tions. For several localities, high levels o chronicabsence existed in one or a handul o schoolsdespite generally low levels o chronic early absencedistrict-wide.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

987654321

Figure 1:Chronic early absence across localitiesPercent

Localities


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8

NCCPs national data analysis ound that chronicabsence in kindergarten is associated with loweracademic perormance in rst grade, especiallyor Latino children. Tis negative correlation heldtrue or all children regardless o gender, ethnicityor socioeconomic status. Participation in ull-dayas opposed to hal-day kindergarten seems to lessenthe negative impact o chronic absence in kinder-garten among poor children.

Te impact o early chronic absence appears tobe most pronounced or Latino children. Readingscores or chronically absent Latino kindergartnerswere signicantly lower than or their peers o otherethnicities even though they had missed similaramounts o school. Tis nding is especially notablegiven that Latinos, who are the largest and astestgrowing minority group, now make up one out o

our children under ve.

Going to school regularly in the early years isespecially critical or children rom amilies livingin poverty who are less likely to have the resourcesto help children make up or lost time in theclassroom. Among poor children, chronic absencein kindergarten predicts the lowest levels o educa-tional achievement at the end o h grade.

Te ollowing chart oers more specic guidanceabout how to calculate prevalence o chronic early

absence. Tis guidance reects insights gained bythe researchers involved in conducting the analysiso national and local data or this report about howto best calculate prevalence and what type o datachallenges are likely to emerge.

Figure 2:Chronic absentees in kindergarten have thelowest academic performance in first grade

Average academicperformance

Absenteeism in kindergarten

General KnowledgeMathReading

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

10.0%6.610.0%3.36.6%03.3%

Figure 3:Chronic absence in kindergarten wasespecially detrimental to the reading performance

of Latino children in first grade

Average readingperformance


WhiteLatinoBlack

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

10.0%6.610.0%3.36.6%03.3%

Figure 4:Poor children who were chronic absenteesin kindergarten had the lowest performance inreading and math in fifth grade

Average academicperformance


MathReading

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

10.0%6.610.0%3.36.6%03.3%


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Question Method Potential Data Issues

1. wa i pva i, a axiv v ayab ii a

a ?

caa p a: (a) iayab ( a ii 10 p ya; (b) ay ab ( a iib v a a 10 p ya);

a () xiv ( a ii 20 p ya). caa b ay abv ya ivi by b ay ya.

I y y a b ay a , yi i i ya a a pxy. s a appa i

ia, v, i i v ab a bi i av ii b ya.

2. wa i pva i, a axiv ab bya?

c by a v. F a aa v, aa p a ay,iay a xivy ab. Pa i appi a y xai k i a;y ay i p a k a.

I ay b ipa, ba, i a v av b ba ipp a a. Ipib, a pia aayzab v i av bai.

3. wa i pva i, xiv, aa ab aay ?

c by i ay . F ai a ay , aa p a ay, iay a xivy ab.o i a b p, iiy a, iaa a ii a a . ci pi

a i a i by i v ab axaii a p av a 5p, 10 p, a 20 p i a iay xivy ab.

4. wa i pva i, xiv aa ab byiiy?

c by aj i p i y ii, ypiay hipai/lai, n-hipai Ba/Aia Aia, n-hipai wi, Aia PaiIa, a o. I y av a a naiv Aiappai, a a paa . Fa i p, aa p a -ay, iay, a xivy ab.

I b a i ppai a vya, y i i i aap iz b p aa avaiab aiaa bai.

Calculating Prevalence o Chronic Early Absence

Steps or Analyzing the Prevalence o Chronic Absence During the Early Grades

A aj ipiai i i a ii iv iii a

a x i ay

ab i a va pb ay a i .t pai ab a a aii, a i aayi i a ii iay ab (ii 10% yaa aab i x x-). B a p a aayi.

STEP 1 Fi i y ii a a iva ii (u.s.I) a i , i i a aa aa. I i i , bi ii ab i aaaa i iai a i u.s.I.

STEP 2 Fi i aa aa a ay a aay p vy ay a i vy a bi ii. A v, a

b a aa a a i a i a v ia a . Fi ab a a pii ai a pi, ab a, i x ab, .uai pii i b ia ai ip a aayi i ay ab v.

STEP 3 Ai a u.s.I i i pa a aa a ay a iy i ,iiy ii a apaiy a i a aa aayi. I i , iiy a aa pa i apaiy aayz aa aa a i aa pa ia a a aa aa (a a aaii) aayi.

STEP 4 u ii aa iiy a ppai i i pva iay ab a a v a a xiv ab. t aiiav a ba a ab ii i b ipiay a i i ab i xiv ab p va ay i ay ab i i a aii a v a

v i.


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Question Method Potential Data Issues

5. wa i pva i, xiv aa ab bypia ai?

c by y a ii piaai . F a ppai (pia aiv a ai), aa p aay, iay a xivy ab.

A ba a a yp ai b pia ai pp i aayi.

6. wa i pva i, xiv aa ab ei laa lav ei laaspa?

c by y a ii eilaa la (ell) . F a ppai (ellv ell), aa p a aya iay ab.

I y ppai ell i iybi a p pa ya i aiy, i aai ay iy i ab i ay p i- by ii by p iay ab. tii a b xai by aai ap ell ppai av ii b a i yaa a vii ii pii vi a i i i-.

7. wa i pva i, xiva a aba p a

i i a aa ivi i pib?

caa i, a a xiv ab v i a p v -p. dpip avaiab aa, i aai b ivi i .

A pai b a b ivi a pi aa v .5

I i apaiy -, a i-ai a b i a a iv i a a 30 p i iv a b Fa Pvy i.A pai a b a b i ivii i pvy a v a a.

sva a xi i i F &r l. riabiiy iv a i appy vyya pa. I

i i v -i , ii av aiv i pa v i ppai a aiaiaa iivia .

gi a b pbai i a i a i pv api bi -.A aa (iaiv) i i b v pbaia a aai a 95 p ia a. I a b ipa -i a a pa aa bia. I aii, i ii i i aaa i i a b -ii/ bivii/ vp, i

ay b ap by a aa .

8. wa i pva i, xiv aa ab i ivi i pvy byiiy, pia ai,a ell a?

F a b-ppai ( ia, i p,pia ai v a ai, ell vn-ell), aa pva i a aab p v p .

Calculating Prevalence o Chronic Early Absence (cont.)


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What Cntibutes t Chnic Ealy Absence?

An ecological perspective suggests that childrensdevelopment and educational outcomes takeplace in the context o multiple, ongoing inu-ences among children themselves, their immediate

environments (amily, school, peer group), and thelarger environments (neighborhood, community,culture, society at large). Whether children attendschool regularly reects whether childrens envi-ronments including amily, schools, community,culture, and society adequately address theirneeds. While parents are responsible or gettingtheir children to school every day, schools andcommunities need to recognize and address thebarriers and challenges that may inhibit them romdoing so, especially when they are living in poverty.Large numbers o chronically absent students couldindicate systemic problems that aect the qualityo the educational experience and/or the healthyunctioning o an entire community.

Identied through our applied research, thesecontributing actors are oered below as ques-tions to explore. Each would benet rom urtherresearch to ascertain the extent to which they holdtrue, especially in dierent localities. Gaining clarityabout the actors that lead to chronic absence iscritical to developing eective solutions.

School-Related Issues

Schools themselves can contribute to high levels oabsence among young children.

Is chronic absence an indication that schoolsdo not communicate the importance o regularattendance to parents in their home language andin culturally appropriate ways?Schools play anessential role in promoting attendance by helpingparents understand that coming to school, espe-

cially in the early years, is important to a childsacademic success. Eective and clear communica-tions to diverse amilies was ound by Epstein andSheldon6 to have a signicant impact on improvingattendance and reducing chronic absence. Becauseteachers are respected authority gures in manycommunities, their guidance can be very inuential,especially or immigrant parents who are unamiliar

with the norms o U.S. educational institutions andperhaps even lack experience with ormal educationin their home country. Te lack o Spanish-speakingschool personnel who can reach out and commu-

nicate with a growing population o Latino amiliesabout educational matters, including attendance,appeared to be a major issue in the school districtwith the second highest level o chronic earlyabsence in our local research.

Is chronic absence a sign that schools do notmonitor absences or contact amilies when chil-dren miss extended periods o time to identiyand, where easible, address barriers to getting toschool?Personalcontact and outreach rom schoolscan help amilies understand that attendance,even in the early grades, is important to childrensacademic success. When schools take a supportiveand personal approach to contacting amiliesabout absences, they demonstrate that sta areconcerned about the well-being o their children,and encourage parents to send their young childrento school. Epstein and Sheldon also ound that thepresence o a school contact person to discuss atten-dance and related issues, along with home visits,reduce chronic absence.7 Our local research appearsto arm this nding: a dening characteristic o

locality #9, which had the lowest rates o chronicabsence, is its ongoing and intentional approachto monitoring attendance and contacting parentsas soon as troubling patterns o absences begin toappear.

Te willingness o schools and districts to activelymonitor absences may, in part, reect the extent towhich state school unding policies create incentivesto invest in increased student attendance. Currently,only a handul o states base unding on averagedaily attendance (ADA). Most states allocate

unding based upon student enrollment countedonce or twice during the year, oen in conjunctionwith a ormula to provide extra unding or studentswith greater needs. At least one state has no consis-tent unding ormula based on student enrollment;instead, allocations are determined through thepolitical process. Te locality in our study with thesecond highest level o chronic absence was locatedin this state.


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Is chronic absence a sign that schools do noteectively engage parents in their childrenseducation?Schools create an important oundationor parents to see themselves as active partners intheir childrens education. Schools and teachers thatbuild strong personal relationships to parents andoer a variety o opportunities or involvement canmake a tremendous dierence. Research shows thatthe more schools reach out and engage parents, themore they experience gains in attendance.8 Parentsactively involved in their childrens education aremore likely to ensure children attend school on aregular basis.

Schools eorts to involve amilies are requentlyhaphazard and uncoordinated with teachers indi-vidual outreach to amilies, with little support romthe larger school community. ypically, limited

or no training is available to help educators learnhow to orm strong school, amily and communitypartnerships. Outreach is oen based upon trial anderror rather than upon a coherent strategy inormedby an understanding o the most eective practices.9oo oen, schools ocus parent involvement onactivities (like undraising or volunteering in theclassroom) that ail to recognize and build upon themultitude o ways parents, especially rom minorityor less auent backgrounds, can and do contributeto their childrens education. Research shows thatschools are more likely to increase attendance i

they are able to engage parents o all backgrounds,including those who speak languages other thanEnglish.10 Parents who are not involved in schoolhave a much harder time seeing how their childrenare adversely aected when they miss school.

Is chronic absence a sign that schools do not oera high quality, engaging and sae educationalexperience?Early attendance problems, especially ithey occur at high rates throughout a school, couldsigniy that children and their amilies are ambiva-lent about or even alienated rom school. Repeated

absences could be a response to ineective teaching,high rates o sta turnover or teacher absenteeism,chaos in the classroom or bullying in school prem-ises. Although most o the existing research docu-menting the detrimental impact o poor qualityeducation on attendance ocuses on older students,11it is likely this situation also applies to youngerchildren, especially i their parents are aware o theproblems in the classroom.

An issue worth urther exploration is whether thehigh levels o chronic absence ound among chil-dren in need o special education reects, at leastin part, the lack o a high quality, engaging educa-tional experience. Across all nine localities, higherlevels o absence occurred among children withIndividualized Educational Programs (IEPs).12

Family-Related Issues

While what happens in school matters, school atten-dance is deeply aected by amily circumstances.Young children depend upon their primary care-givers to ensure they arrive at school every day.

Is chronic early absence an indication that ami-lies are unaware o the adverse impact o chronicearly absence?Especially when children are

entering kindergarten, amilies may not realize thatattendance in kindergarten matters. Kindergartenhas historically been viewed as a transition intoormal education rather than the beginning oormal schooling. Many parents may not be awareo the changes that have occurred in schooling,especially with the onset o No Child Le Behind.Tis perception o kindergarten as optional isreected by state compulsory education laws, whichtypically do not start until children are older, as wellas the continued practice o only oering hal-daykindergarten in many places. Nationally and across

all o the localities studied, the incidence o chronicabsence was consistently highest in kindergartenand then declined with each subsequent school yearthrough third grade.

Is chronic early absence an indication that ami-lies are poor and lack the resources (transporta-tion, ood, clothing, etc.) to ensure their childrenregularly attend school?When amilies are poor,they lack resources (oen taken or granted bymany middle class amilies) that make regularschool attendance much easier. Poverty and the lacko stable, aordable housing are clearly associatedwith the mobility issue described above. Barriersalso include the lack o reliable transportation,nutritious ood and limited access to health care.Sometimes, parents are simply too exhausted towake up in the morning in time to get their childrendressed, ed and to school because they are workingnight shis and even multiple jobs to pay bills.Programs addressing chronic absenteeism have also


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ound that children were too embarrassed to go toschool because they lacked clean, suitable clothingor did not have appropriate shoes or coats to endurerain or snow.

Te data analysis carried out by this project ounda correlation between chronic early absence andpoverty. According to NCCP, absence in kinder-garten and rst grade increased when amilyincome was lower. In kindergarten, children romamilies living in poverty were our times morelikely to be chronically absent than were their peersrom amilies earning at least 300 percent o theederal poverty level. In rst grade, children romamilies in poverty were still 3.6 times more likely tobe chronically absent than were their most auentpeers. While this disparity decreased slightly inthird grade, it began to climb again in h grade.

Is chronic early absence an indication that ami-lies are highly mobile?According to the U.S.Government Accountability Oce, one o six chil-dren has attended three or more schools by the timehe/she completes third grade.13 Mobility is highlycorrelated with poor attendance.14 When childrenmove, they miss school while they are in the processo nding a new home and a new school. Mobilitycan continue to aect attendance even aer a childhas been enrolled in a new school. Children who aresubject to multiple moves may actively avoid going

to school because o the challenges o constantlyadjusting to a new school where they lack relation-ships to adults or peers and may need to adapt to anew curriculum and teaching methods. o reducethe impact o mobility, some districts have soughtto standardize the curriculum used by their elemen-tary schools. While some amilies change schoolsbecause o educational concerns, the majority ochanges are caused by shis in the amilys resi-dence. Families who move requently are oencoping with serious lie events including job loss,divorce, domestic abuse, oster care placement and

poor housing.15

Especially in communities with large immigrantpopulations, mobility can occur when amiliesmove back temporarily to their country o originor extended periods. Immigrant parents may notbe aware o the detrimental impact o extendedabsences or that these can result in their child being

dis-enrolled rom their school. Among amiliesliving in the United States without documenta-tion, requent moves could also occur in an eortto avoid detection by the U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services or i parents are detained inimmigration enorcement operations.16 Frequentmovement back and orth between communitiesis not, however, limited to immigrant populations,but, or example, also can occur among youngNative American students, when they move onand o reservation lands. It is also important torecognize, however, that absenteeism among highlymobile children is not always reected in a childsschool record especially i attendance is not trackedor individual students. In addition, when childrenmove, they may be dis-enrolled beore being identi-ed as chronically absent.

Is chronic early absence a sign that amilies havedifculty addressing and managing illness, espe-cially chronic disease among children?Especiallywhen amilies are poor, they also may lack accessto medical care that helps to ensure being sick doesnot result in missing school. I amilies, or example,lack access to health care, their children can missschool because they do not get immunized in timeor because an ear inection only gets treated aera long night in the emergency room. Te presenceo a chronic disease, like asthma, can make thesituation even more dicult. Coping with asthma

can be a tall order or most parents; it is an evengreater challenge or those who are struggling tomake ends meet and may not have access to medi-cation or preventive health care that can help toavoid asthmatic attacks. Lower-income amiliesare also more likely to live in communities aectedby environmental toxins and air pollution, whichlead to a greater prevalence o chronic disease andcan trigger continued symptoms such as asthmaattacks.17

NCCPs research revealed that among children

rated by their parents as being in poor health,absenteeism signicantly increased at 200-300% opoverty or children in poor health.

One possible explanation is that, at this incomelevel, amilies earn enough to lose public healthbenets, but too little to pay or private healthinsurance or the uncovered costs o health care.


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14

Once amilies are more auent, they can aordmore expensive high quality care but are also morelikely to have the knowledge and skills that supportprevention and help handle medical crises such asasthma attacks. In addition, or amilies at the verylowest income levels, it may be dicult to distin-guish whether absence is caused by a health issue orother challenges that make it more likely or chil-dren to miss school or some combination.

Is chronic early absence a sign that amilies havea history o negative experiences with educationand may not eel welcome in schools?Althoughparents want their children to be successul, someparents may not have developed the skills, knowl-edge or belies that help them to support theirchildrens education, especially i they experiencedschool ailure themselves. Parents may eel reluc-

tant to send their children to school i their ownpersonal experience with ormal education wasnegative. Tey may nd that schools evoke memo-ries o ailure and alienation rather give rise toeelings o possibility and hope or a better utureor their children. I a whole population o studentsdemonstrates a consistent pattern o absenteeism,it may be important to explore whether thisbehavior reects the existence o policies and prac-tices causing wide spread alienation rom ormaleducation.

Is chronic early absence an indication that ami-lies ace multiple risks (or instance, living inpoverty, teen motherhood, single motherhood,low maternal education, welare, unemploy-ment, ood insecurity, poor maternal health andmultiple siblings)?NCCP ound that chronic earlyabsence was aected by a number o maternal andamily risks, including living in poverty, teenagemotherhood, single motherhood, low maternaleducation, welare, maternal unemployment, oodinsecurity, poor maternal health and multiplesiblings. While each one, by itsel, had some impact

on chronic absence, rates jumped signicantly onceamilies were conronted with three or more risks.As children continue in elementary school careersthe impact o cumulative risk lessens briey only toincrease again in h grade.18 Multiple risks weremost commonly ound among children living inpoverty, rom a racial/ethnic minority group or inpoor health.

Figure 5:Middle income children with poor healthmissed school more often than healthy children

Average daysabsent

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

300% or moreFPL

200%300%FPL

100%200%FPL

Below100% FPL

Family income

Good healthPoor health

Does Race/Ethnicity Matter or Chronic Early Absence?

Ai nccP aayi, i ia,xp Aia Aia, a ava, ab aya i. Abi a ay i a naivAia i a a a Aia.

s aia , v, aay i ia i i aii i. I i i aa ppai naiv Aia (1.1% pp-ai) i i aayi, naiv Aia y aa i ii i ay ab. B i aii i, i a aa pa.Aia Aia a i v i ii;lai i i . A a aay a

Aia Aia a iy b iayab i ay a, i i ipa iz a iay, i pa a ba aay i p, aa baia i b iii.

ti aa a i a/iiy a, ia ay p p a b vaiab. Pvy, xap, aiy i a y a. la aa iab a i a b i a ba i iv i i pvy ib. di i pvaa aia/i p a f iia a b a paia i p aa ipa a ibi i ab. ci

ab ay ia, xap, i av a iii p ia i a biaiip aii paia aa i ba- a ai i i.

t a vaiai a ipa aviiapi ab i b iay ab ba pi a/iiy a, ia, xai vaiai i aapa a ibi a by aia/i p.


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Is chronic early absence a sign o serious prob-lems that make school attendance difcultbecause amily lie has been disrupted and publicagencies and schools lack a coordinated response?Among some amilies, chronic early absence couldbe a sign that they are grappling with serious prob-lems such as such as substance abuse, mental illness(including maternal depression), domestic violence,child abuse, and involvement in the criminaljustice system. Tese challenges can deeply impairthe healthy unctioning o the amily and inter-ere with the psychological and physical ability oparents to provide their children with the guidance,nurturing and skill building they need. Substanceabuse seriously intereres with parents ability tomeet their childrens basic needs, oen creating highlevels o chaos, neglect and isolation in the home.19Te impact o adults mental illness on parenting

behavior, as well as the challenges o recoveryand treatment, can seriously aect amily unc-tioning.20 Recent research suggests that maternaldepression is much more common than previouslysuspected, and can seriously impair the parent-childrelationship.21

When domestic violence or child abuse occurs,school attendance and academic perormancerequently decline. Children not only suer romresulting psychological, and in some cases, physical,trauma but also experience instability in their living

situations as victims seek out sae places to stay. Ichildren enter the child welare system, they maybe subject to multiple placements. Oen, the ostercare situations are not coordinated to ensure thatthey can remain in the same elementary school. Iparents become incarcerated, maintaining a stableand nurturing living situation can be even moreproblematic.22 Violence in the home, substanceabuse and parental incarceration oen result inyoung children being placed in the care o relatives,typically grandparents, who may themselves bein precarious positions to assume parenting roles

because they oen are living on xed incomes andcoping with signicant health issues.

Community-Related Issues

In addition to being aected by what happens intheir own home, childrens regular school atten-dance can also reect community conditions.A community rich in supports or children andamilies can help make up or limited resources and

educational opportunities in the home. I an entirecommunity is economically distressed and plaguedby violence, the impact o these conditions and alack o positive social norms can make it dicultor even the strongest o amilies to ensure theirchildren stay on track or school success.

Does chronic absence occur when communitiesdo not provide adequate supports to help chil-dren and amilies make a positive transition intoelementary school?Childrens entry into kinder-garten can be a major shi or amilies as well aschildren. While children must adjust to being in alarge group, oen with only a single teacher, parentsmust develop a relationship with their childsteacher and gain an understanding o the normsand expectations o elementary school. Both chil-dren and their amilies must also develop the dailyroutines that will support consistent attendance atschool. Chronic early absenteeism could reect theabsence o needed supports in the community tohelp children and their amilies make this shi to aormal learning environment.

According to the NCCP study, children who spentthe year prior to kindergarten in the care o amilymembers were more oen absent than peers whoattended a center-based program or were underthe care o non-relatives. Tis nding held trueabove and beyond dierences in amily income andrace. One explanation is that children in the careo centers and non-amily members may have anadvantage because they have already developed theroutine o getting to school on a regular basis. Anadditional advantage o spending time in a center

or other non-relative care is providing children withprior experience in making the transition to beingwith someone who is not a member o the amily.Children unaccustomed to this transition canbecome so anxious about attending school that theyreuse to attend school, even complaining aboutphysical symptoms. Tis situation is best resolvedby ensuring the child attends regularly while alsoproviding the child with reassurance to address his


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16

or her ears. I not resolved quickly, these schoolreusal behaviors can result in more ongoingattendance challenges.23 When children are in earlychildhood settings, teachers typically are workingwith ewer children and can more easily work withparents to allay childrens anxieties about school andseparation rom their amilies.

Finally, chronic absence could reect the lack o highquality early education experiences that help chil-dren gain the social and cognitive skills that makeschool a more positive experience. Given greateremphasis on ormal instruction and skill acquisi-tion in kindergarten, children must increasinglyenter school already able to pay attention, exercisesel-control and sit still or longer periods o time.24NCCP ound that children had higher absen-teeism i they were less socio-emotionally mature,

according to their teachers perceptions o the childsapproaches to learning, interpersonal relations, selcontrol, as well as externalizing or internalizingproblem behaviors.25 One argument or the expan-sion o preschool is that it helps children, especiallythe least advantaged children, gain these types oskills so they can be successul in school.26

Participation in more ormal early care and educa-tion programs is heavily inuenced by economicstatus as well as by ethnicity. Auent children aremuch more likely to attend preschool and their

amilies have the resources to cover the cost o highquality programs. Latino children are less likelythan any other ethnic group to attend preschool.27Te lack o preschool participation among Latinochildren could help explain why chronic absencein kindergarten has an even greater eect on thispopulation o children.

Is chronic early absence a sign that the commu-nity is severely distressed and suers rom adearth o ormal or inormal supports to promotechildrens positive development, including

regular school attendance?Te number o chil-dren living in severely distressed neighborhoodshas signicantly increased between 1990 and 2000.A community is considered severely distressedwhen its population shares at least three o theour ollowing characteristics: high poverty rate(24.5% or more), a large percent (>37.15) o singlemothers, a high concentration o high school drop

outs (>23%) and a high percentage o unemployedworking-age males (34% or more).28 In neighbor-hoods, just as within amilies, these characteristicsinteract with each other to create an even morechallenging environment than would be predictedby the presence o only one measure. Such neigh-borhoods also oen suer rom a dearth o strongcommunity institutions that can help supportchildren and their amilies. When children grow upin these types o neighborhoods, they may be lesslikely to see positive role models or have access tocommunity programs (such as mentoring programsor aerschool programs) that could encourage theirattendance at school.

Is chronic early absence an indication that acommunity is experiencing high levels o violencethat adversely aect amily unctioning and

getting children to school saely? Ongoing expo-sure to community violence can have extremelytroubling and powerul eects on the behavior andperception o those who have experienced it, andearly chronic absenteeism could reect the impacto high levels o community violence on childrenand their parents. Among a range o impacts,victims can lose their ability to trust other peopleand institutions, and can also become less likely totake initiative because they no longer believe theycan get what they want, have less ability to distin-guish between the impact o their own actions

versus others and lack condence in the validity otheir own perception.29 In such a situation, parentsmay be unable to provide children with the positivesupport they need to attend school on regular basisand achieve in school. As a practical matter, highrates o violence and community crime could alsoaect the ability o amilies to get their children toschool, especially i the route involves crossing overgang territories.

In locality #1, data were available to comparedierences between selected indicators o commu-

nity well-being or the 10 percent o census tractswith the highest rates o chronic absent K throughthird graders versus the city as whole. Tis studyound that rates or inant mortality, child/adoles-cent deaths, and juvenile violent deaths were eachapproximately 140% higher in the areas withchronic absenteeism than the city as a whole. Childabuse rates were 93% higher.


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Although community violence matters, chronicabsence might be, at least partially, remedied by ahigh quality educational program. Drawing romdata or locality #1, the chart suggests that whenschool quality was high, children were less likelyto be chronically absent in the early grades despiteliving in a high risk neighborhood in which many otheir peers are missing extended periods o school.One possibility is amilies are even more inclined

to ensure their children regularly attend a wellrun school since it also serves as a sae haven romcommunity violence.

In summary, the extent to which any o thesecontributing actors can vary depends upon thespecic local context or particular circumstancessurrounding a particular child or amily. In addi-tion, it is likely that the array o major actorspreventing children rom going to school is associ-ated with the overall level o chronic absenteeism.When chronic early absenteeism is relatively low(or example, between 0-8 percent), it is more likelyto be related to economic and social challengesaecting the ability o individual amilies to ensuretheir children attend school regularly. When a largepercentage o children are aected by chronic earlyabsence (more than 20% o the population), it islikely indicative o systemic issues related to schoolsor communities.

I chronic early absence is a signicant issue,schools and communities would benet rom adeeper understanding o the extent to which any othe actors outlined in this brie are relevant. Tebox below describes how schools and communitiescan gather qualitative and quantitative inormationto identiy key contributing actors. As communi-ties engage in this more comprehensive assessment,they can also combine research with action by

piloting interventions targeting a group o childrenwith high levels o absence. Below, Charlie Brunerdescribes how communities could use a techniqueadapted rom health care to engage in such actionresearch.

Hih Pefmance Schl

l ri ciy hi ri ciy

hi Pi s hi Pi s

3.7% 6.7% 9.6% 12.4% 9.9% 12.4% 17.9% 16.1% 25.4% 21.9%

4.3% 8.6% 7.9% 11.7% 14.4% 13.5% 15.9% 23.8% 23.3% 25.7%

0.0% 7.6% 10.0% 12.3% 15.9% 14.8% 13.6% 20.8% 19.3% 21.7%

Lw riskCmmunity

6.5% 10.0% 13.0% 10.7% 15.3% 15.2% 22.1% 18.9% 21.9% 19.5% Hih riskCmmunity5.3% 10.8% 11.1% 17.4% 16.5% 12.6% 19.1% 23.2% 11.5% 27.5%

2.0% 6.5% 13.0% 13.5% 16.5% 15.7% 21.3% 24.5% 21.6% 30.1%

12.5% 14.9% 19.6% 16.9% 13.0% 20.7% 21.1% 21.2% 29.8% 27.9%

0.0% 13.8% 40.6% 15.2% 29.9% 29.6% 34.9% 22.7% 29.5% 38.9%

l ri ciy hi ri ciy

l Pi s l Pi s

Lw Pefmance Schl

ea p p iay ab

0-5% 6-10% 11-15% 16-20% 21-25% 26-30% 31%+


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18

o y av b ab aa pva i ay ab y (a iay ii-i), i i ipa pa a a appa a i ii

x pi i. s a a vay a, ii a i i aii.gai a i pi y bi aii pva i iia vpiiv ivi. B a aivii p y iiy a i i i y aiy.

1) Examine data n Chnic Ealy Absence.sp baa f p y a iiaa i ay ab. B a i i.

n d v i ay ab a a

iia ppi ppai(10% )? I i i a ii? (High levels throughout adistrict suggest the existence of systemic chal-lenges related to school policy or practice and/orproblematic community-wide social or economicissues.)

n d v i ay ab i byi i a i aii? Bya v? By a/iiy? laa ba-? nib i?

n wa p ppai i

a iay ab i xivy ab(ii 20% ya) a iaa a avaiab, piy ab (i-y ii x pi i va ya i a )?

2) obtain backun infmatin n basic schlan cmmunity cnitins.ky ia-i i a ivi i piipa, a vi ay ii a aa pii, aa (avaiab I ii bi a gas.), aiy aa (c aa aiy i,

, aia v, aa a iba, aa i a ppy a a,aii i, i a aa, a aa, .).

3) Cntact stuents an families when they ae absent.w i a ab, piay a xpi i, a i aii ab i i -bi a bi baii i-

ai ab a a ai .

4) Cnuct Ealy Schl Success Fcus gups.Fp b i a vaiy a-, ii pa, , a (ba, pp p, ia , a ) a a iy ai a ab ay xpi. ra a ii ii bai aa, i ay b p a ii a ay aai i a va iai aavi i ia. F p a xpbai a a aai aiv a

aa, a a b a a a avaiab ii pp a i aii. Iay, p b a-iz i pi by yp a,a a by i iii ba, appii paiipa i i xpi- a a ab a pa a i ppiv.

5) develp Paent Suveys.t bai ip aba aay aii, i i p ii ip a v baaay pa ab i ay xpi,

ii a aa. rb aa vy i y v a b aii pa aa a ei.ci vpi a a pa iba p vp, iia a vy a a ip

Identiying Factors Contributing to Chronic Early Absence in Your School or Community


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t Plan, d, Stuy, Act (PdSA) Test Cycle i a ay qiy a a a i pai i i

pi, iia ba a a p via ai, a a a p. Ii paiay i ppi a- aiviii ay a ivv - i ai pa a p ai. t a y a:

Plan vp a b ip

d ay a

Stuy a aa b a a aa f a a a

Act pa x a y xpaipai, bii a a a.

Fqy, PdsA y ivv a a b a a a a i ip v a pi i. PdsA y av b py ia a i vai pp a yi iq i pai appi ( i appi), api i ii -i pai, a vpi apa i ai a pia ( aay ivi pa Pa c IdeA).

PdsA y a pa paii avii b a aa a pia pbi pai i a pai i vpia i a i. t - a PdsA i a i a i, a apaii p, a a i, piaa. I p bi a paii iyba a.

PdsA y b a ay v iiai ay ay abi a a

ai ai a i. exap yp PdsA a i b i:

n A i a i pa a ab a 10% i i a pa i av i a av ay i a a vp a aa pa i i-. t i p i pa v x a ay i i a ab,a a i i bqab.

n A ii a a i baia b ay y a i i a ya, a aiy v. t ii i i x 15 aii i v ii ya a av i a a a i p. I ivi, ii i i a aii av pv ay i , pi i aii iia a a i i v, a a bq PdsA bp i pa a i i.

n A i a i ppi AiaAia ay i i a ab i Aia Aia pa a ab a a ,ai a pa i i iiy a i i avp pa ai a.

Combining Research and Action: Using the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) Test Cycleto Develop Strategies to Address Early Grade Absenteeismby ca B, xiv i, ci a Faiy Piy c


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20

What Ae Implicatins f Actin?

Paying attention to early absenteeism can be aneective strategy or identiying and addressingeducational and amilial issues early on. o realizethis potential, this brie suggests our major areas o

action.

Monitor Chronic Absence

Action starts with school districts throughout theUnited States determining whether and to whatextent chronic absence is a relevant problem. Schooldistricts should:

n Improve the accuracy and consistency o localdata on attendance maintained by individualschools and district-wide.

n Include absences among the data elementstracked with a universal student identier,including among elementary school childrenand i possible, even among students attendingpre-kindergarten programs. Including childrenwhen they enter pre-kindergarten programscould allow districts to identiy i attendanceis problematic prior to elementary schooland to track whether participation in pre-kindergarten is helping to reduce chronic earlyabsence in Kindergarten.

n Adopt a common denition o chronic absence(missing 10% or more o the school yearschool year regardless o whether absences areexcused or unexcused).

n Regularly calculate and report on the numbero children chronically absent includingexcused and unexcused absences by type oschool (elementary, middle, secondary) andby grade. Data should be made available to thepublic.

n Examine whether chronic early absence is

higher among particular student popula-tions as dened, or example, by ethnicity,English Language Learner (ELL) status, homelanguage, participation in special education,gender, risk exposure, etc.

n Maintain chronically absent students on schoolenrollment les until the district can veriythat students have transerred or moved out odistrict.

Additional data collection in school districtsthroughout the United States is especially importantor understanding the prevalence o chronic earlyabsence in rural and suburban areas as well as other

urban school districts.

Tese data collection reorms can be supported withaction at the district, state and ederal levels. Schooldistricts can adopt these reorms as they improvetheir local data systems. State policy makers canencourage monitoring and reporting on chronicabsence through legislation as well as administra-tive regulations. Te ederal government can alsopromote these improvements through technicalassistance as well as public investments in educationdata systems.

Improve Attendance through Strong Schooland Community Partnerships

I chronic absence levels are signicant or partic-ular schools, neighborhoods or populations ostudents, schools should partner with communityagencies, including early childhood agencies, andamilies to understand the actors contributing toearly absence to develop appropriate responsestailored to their realities.

Characteristics o Promising Programs

Available research combined with the experienceo pioneering programs, suggest that schools andcommunities can make a signicant dierencewhen they:

n address issues contributing to chronic earlyabsence in their community;

n take comprehensive approaches involvingstudents, amilies and community agencies;

n maintain a sustained ocus on attendance overtime;

n begin early upon entry to school or evenearlier;

n combine strategies helping to improve atten-dance among all children with interventionstargeting those who are chronically absent;


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n take into account and build upon thelanguages and cultures o students and theiramilies; and

n oer positive supports to promote schoolattendance instead o (or beore resorting to)punitive responses or legal action.

A comprehensive and intentional approach char-acterizes the school district that had the lowestlevel o chronic early absence (5.4 percent) amongthe nine localities examined. Each school has anattendance team. Families are contacted as soonas students miss three days o school. Home visitsoccur aer ve days. Tis district has a strong trackrecord o collaborating with public agencies andhealth providers as well as community-based agen-cies. It is located in one o the ew states providinguniversal preschool education. Over the past our

years, chronic early absence ell rom 10 percentto 5 percent among young students living in highpoverty neighborhoods. In this district, unlikeall other localities examined, students rom highpoverty neighborhoods had better attendance thantheir peers living in other parts o town.

A Proposed Comprehensive Response

Te pyramid illustrates what could be encompassedwithin a comprehensive response.

Te universal strategies lie at the base o thepyramid while the most targeted interventionsappear at the top. Based upon an assessment otheir own strengths and challenges, each schoolcommunity can identiy which strategiesneed to be put in place to reduce chronicabsence. A school community might nd,or example, that some o these potentialstrategies are already in place so it canocus its attention on the missingelements. Each o these possible

strategies is discussed in moredepth below along with reer-ences to existing models andpromising practices.

1. Prepare children or entry into school throughhigh quality early care and education experience.Quality early care and education experiences arecharacterized by well-trained sta, low sta andteacher ratios, sae acilities and culturally, linguisti-cally and developmentally appropriate curricula.Because these programs are oen the rst experi-ence parents have sharing responsibility or raisingtheir children, they can play an invaluable role inreducing chronic absence by orienting amilies toschool norms and helping amilies make regularschool attendance part o their daily routine. Tiscan happen in part-day, part-week or ull-day/ull-week programs as long as the time and day oparticipation are clearly established and maintainedand programs help in general to educate parentsabout how they promote the development o theirchildren through regular routines and setting

appropriate limits. A growing national interest inexpanding access to preschool as well as in estab-lishing pre-K through third grade programs oerimportant opportunities to ensure even greaternumbers o children are prepared or the transitionto elementary school.

Coordinatedpublic agency and,

if needed, legal responsefor families in crisis

Engage families of allbackgrounds in their childrens education

Offer a high quality education responsive to diverse learning needs

Ensure access to preventive health care, especially as children enter school

Prepare children for school through quality early care and education experiences

Early outreach to families withpoor attendance, and as appropriate,case management to address social,

medical, economic and academic needs

Offer incentives for attendance to all children

Encourage families to help each other attend school

Educate parents about the importance of attendance

UNIV

ERSAL

TARGETED


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22

2. Ensure access to preventive health care, espe-cially as children enter school.Especially incommunities with larger numbers o low-incomeand working poor amilies, it may be importantto take additional steps to ensure all children haveaccess to preventive health care in order to preventavoidable illnesses becoming a cause o extendedabsence. Such steps can involve not only expandingenrollment in childrens health insurance butalso providing children with immunizations andcomprehensive screenings (vision, dental, hearingand assessment or developmental delays.) Whileideally such activities occur long beore a childbegins kindergarten, schools should be equippedto address immediately the needs o children whoenter their doors without prior access to suchmedical services. School nurses are an essentialcomponent, especially i they can operate in part-

nership with resources available rom public healthdepartments, community clinics, medical acilitiesand even local medical or dental schools.

3. Oer a high quality education that respondsto diverse learning styles and needs o students.When schools oer a high quality educationalexperience that engages the interest o childrenand meets their learning needs, amilies are muchmore likely to eel going to school is worthwhile.Te eld o education encompasses a wide varietyo school reorm approaches, ranging rom those

ocused on changing practices related to teachingand learning, to the creation o smaller schools thathelp to build and maintain a sense o connectionamong teachers, students and amilies. Regardlesso its nature, any reorm eort should have a vestedinterest in reducing chronic early absence sincecurricular improvements are dicult to implementi classrooms are constantly disrupted by the reap-pearance o children who have missed extendedperiods o school. In addition to supporting curric-ulum improvements and proessional developmentor teachers, education reorm initiatives could

encourage schools to partner with social serviceagencies to address amily and community-relatedbarriers to learning, including chronic absence.Te implementation o Project Grad in Atlanta, inAppendix B, illustrates such an approach.

4. Engage amilies oallbackgrounds in theirchildrens education.Attendance improves whenschools eectively engage parents when they createa wide variety o opportunities or amilies romall backgrounds to support their childs learning.Such engagement starts with building relationshipsbetween teachers and parents.

According to the work o Joyce Epstein, severaldierent types o parent involvement are importantto undertake including: (a)parenting helping allamilies establish supportive home environmentsor children; (b) communicating establishingtwo-way exchanges about school programs andchildrens progress; (c) volunteering restructuringand organizing parent help at school, home or otherlocations; (d) learning at home providing inorma-tion and ideas to amilies about how to help students

with homework and other curriculum-related mate-rials; (e) decision making having amilies serve asrepresentatives and leaders on school communities.30Oering a wide variety o opportunities helps makeit possible or parents rom a range o backgroundsand with varying levels o availability (given workschedules) to participate, especially when outreachto amilies occurs in their home languages and bysta amiliar with their cultural norms.

5. Educate parents about the importance o atten-dance.Educating parents about the importance o

attending school can take a variety o orms and beincorporated into various types o parent involve-ment discussed earlier. It can begin with creatingan opportunity during school orientation nights,typically held at the beginning o the school year, tohelp parents to understand why attendance is impor-tant because o its impact on the child, and to sharerelevant rules and regulations. Sta can use theirinteraction with parents throughout the year to talkwith parents about avoiding long vacations whileschool is still in session or taking care to scheduledoctors appointments in the non-school hours.

Schools can incorporate attendance into parentingworkshops by, or example, oering a session onstrategies or getting children to school every day,on time. Ideally, such workshops could combineadvice rom an expert with opportunities or sharingsuccessul strategies and problem-solving amongparents. In the PAC program in Hawaii, a serieso attendance workshops were specically designed


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to meet the needs o parents o children who werechronically absent. Aer initially requiring parentsto participate, the program shied to a voluntaryapproach, which proved more successul.

6. Encourage amilies to help each other attendschool.Schools can also acilitate and promoteparents and students helping each other attendschool. In Verde Involving Parents Program, orexample, trained parent leaders receive the class rolllists rom teachers and then called to check in withthe parents o all absent students. As parents arecalled, the VIP parent leaders nd out i amilies areexperiencing barriers that could be overcome withthe help o other parents, or example, helping eachother out with drop-o and pick up. While moredicult situations should be reerred to a socialworker, the parent leaders can play an important role

in helping their peers know that they are valued andshould eel comortable turning to each other orinormal support. Relying upon inormal supportand guidance o riends and amilies has always beena critical ingredient in successully raising children,including getting children to school regularly. Asamilies have, however, become more mobile, oenliving ar away rom natural networks o support,schools are becoming increasingly importantcommunity institutions and places or orging andestablishing relationships o mutual support.

7. Oer incentives or attendance to all children.Many schools oer incentives, both material (suchas pencils, or toys) and emotional (acknowledge-ment in class, at morning assembly or in the schoolnewsletter, extra recess time, opportunities to dresscasually i uniorms are required) to children orsometimes parents or excellent attendance records.Whether incentives should be material is a mattero some debate: some practitioners eel the changein behavior should not be in response to an externalreward, while others eel that material incentives,including nancial stipends to parents, can eectively

motivate participation among harder to reach ami-lies. Equally important, schools with limited budgetsshould be aware that i they are creative, they canengage in a wide variety o low or no cost approachesto creating incentives or attendance. Finally, asschools develop incentives, attention should be paidto rewarding attendance without encouraging thepractice o sending sick children to school.

8. Conduct early outreach to amilies with poorattendance, and as appropriate, case manage-ment to address social, medical, economic andacademic needs.Every promising program identi-ed through this applied research project activelytracked attendance and contacted amilies whenchildren are were absent. Programs varied, however,with respect to when a contact was triggered. Inmost programs, a more personal contact did notbegin until aer children had been absent or adened period o time. Contact would oen beginwith the school sending a letter. It would thenprogress to a phone call or a home visit. Oenschool sites orm attendance teams comprised othe administrator, teachers, attendance sta, anda school social worker and/or nurse i available, tohelp carry out this unction.

A social worker to provide ongoing case manage-ment is oen very important or helping amiliesstruggling to overcome signicant barriers toschool attendance. Social workers can help amiliesto establish short-and long-term goals to ensuretheir childs educational success, develop an actionplan as well as identiy and secure social, medical,economic and educational resources needed toaddress the needs o their child or the amily as awhole. A social worker can come rom a collabo-rating public agency or community-based organiza-tion as well as rom the school or school district.

Te Check & Connect Program ound that workingwith the amily over an extended period o time andstaying with amilies even as they change schools isa key ingredient.

Family support programs, i they exist in acommunity, are particularly important resourcesor expanding capacity to provide such outreach.Voluntary in nature, amily support programs use astrength based approach to ostering amily resil-iency and oer an array o supports such as parenteducation, peer support groups, assistance with basic

needs (ood, clothing, etc.), and reerrals to othercommunity resources. Family support programs cantarget resources and outreach to chronically absentamilies and help amilies understand why and howthey can encourage attendance and academic successat home. Increasingly amily support agencies arealso beginning to expand their array o supportto include economic supports (such as ree tax


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preparation education, increased utilization o taxcredits and public subsidies, and even debt coun-seling and nancial management training) that mayhelp amilies to address nancial challenges.

9. Coordinate public agency and, i needed, legalresponse or amilies in crisis.When amiliesare in crisis, coordination among public agen-cies seeking to address the situation is essential.Consider, or example, what happens when achild is taken into child protective custody. oooen arrangements are made without attention toensuring that children in the child welare systemcan stay in the same school and with teachers withwhom they have already built a relationship o trust.Child welare agencies can change this situationby aligning agency operations with the geographicboundaries o schools. Neighborhoods or Kids

in San Diego has not only assigned social workersto schools but it has also developed Way Stationoster homes that take children 24 hours a day nearschools in the geographic areas with the highestlevels o child abuse. Te Way Stations continueto transport children to their home schools whilein their care or up to 30 days. Te child welareagency then seeks a permanent placement that willkeep the child in the same school. While the natureo the coordination needed can depend upon thenature o the situation (or instance, child abuse,mental illness, substance abuse, parental incar-

ceration), it is clear that public agencies should beworking closely with schools to minimize the extentto which involvement in their systems disrupts theability o children to attend to school.

Such coordination should also extend to the legalsystem, especially i legal action is merited becauseextensive absences continue even aer supportivepositive approaches have been oered. Sometimes,the threat o arrest can motivate amilies to changetheir behavior without needing to resort to prosecu-tion. I prosecution occurs, the ruancy Arbitration

Program in Jacksonville, FL, ound it helpul totailor the court response to the attendance situation.Rather than send a parent to jail (which might exac-erbate the challenges o getting children to school),a judge can, or example, require parents to attendschool with their child or several days as a ormo community service and require regular schoolattendance as a condition or parole.

Embed Chronic Early Absence into RelevantInitiatives

Given the plethora o existing initiatives and inter-agency collaborations, the goal o this brie is notto advocate or the creation o a new reorm eortocus on reduction chronic early absence. Rather the

goal is encouraging researchers, policy makers, prac-titioners, agency administrators and existing collab-oration to embed attention to chronic early absencein relevant initiatives. Opportunities to do so exist ina variety o elds. Below are just a ew examples.

Recognizing the critical importance o laying astrong oundation or subsequent learning duringthe early years, the last ew years has heralded thedevelopment o a broad array o initiatives aimedat improving school readiness and even reaching

into the early grades to ensure early school success.Such initiatives, whether they involve expansion opreschool or creating a continuum o learning rompre-K to third grade, can weave in educating ami-lies about regular attendance. Oen, such eortsare also accompanied by the creation o tools, likechild passports and school readiness assessmentaimed at improving the transition to school byensuring schools receive inormation about thesocial, emotional, and cognitive development oincoming kindergartners rom their preschools.Since preschools are likely to detect troubling atten-

dance patterns rst, such tools could be designedto help notiy elementary schools when chronicabsence is occurring and trigger the provision oextra supports to these children and amilies as theyare enter kindergarten.

Similarly, school-based and linked health programsalready exist to some degree in many communi-ties. As eorts occur to strengthen or expand theseservices, attention could be paid to identiyingwhich illnesses or chronic diseases cause extendedabsence among young children in their communi-

ties. Health practitioners could also serve as animportant rst line o contact with amilies sincethey can identiy a variety o barriers to attendanceas they assess the health situation.

Many communities are now aware that they acea drop-out crisis, especially among low-incomeand minority youth. Te work o Robert Balanz


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indicates that this crisis can be stopped i communi-ties develop a deep understanding o when and whystudents cease to attend school and gather and targethuman resources to embark upon a comprehensivedropout prevention, intervention, and recoverysystem targeted at the key points when students allo the path to graduation. In addition to ocusingon the problematic transitions into middle and highschool, a truly comprehensive system would alsoinvolve addressing chronic absence when it rstoccurs as children enter school.31

Conduct Further Research

While chronic early absence is an important issueand we know enough to take action immediately,additional research would be helpul to deepenunderstanding about the consequences, prevalence

and eective strategies or improving attendance.Specic areas include:

n longitudinal data analysis to examine long-term academic and social outcomes or chil-dren chronically absent in the early grades;

n an assessment o the prevalence and impacto chronic early absence on children livingoutside o urban areas, especially in ruralcommunities;

n urther study o chronic early absence amongimmigrants including an analysis o dierencesin patterns between rst and second genera-tion immigrants and the impact o mobility;and

n analysis o the prevalence and actors contrib-

uting to chronic early absence or childrenwith dierent types o disabilities.

n Inclusion o chronic early absence in evalu-ations o the impact o various programsserving young students and their amilies.

n Research examining whether children withtroubling attendance patterns in the earlygrades can be identied even earlier inpreschool.

n A multi-site study to determine how chronicearly absences is aected by dierent amily,

school and community variables (includingor example, poverty, proximity to school romchilds home, rates o community violence,school unding ormulas, age o compulsoryeducation, educational program quality, levelso parent education as well as the availabilityo preschool education, aerschool and amilysupport programs).

Summay

Paying attention to early absenteeism providesan invaluable opportunity to identiy and addresssocial, emotional, cognitive and amilial issuesearly on. It oers a chance to intervene beorechildren have allen years behind the academicperormance o their peers and lost hope in eversucceeding in school. Using absenteeism as a triggeror early intervention could be especially important

or closing the achievement gap or low-income

amilies as well as or children rom communi-ties o color. Schools and communities, however,cannot take advantage o this opportunity to take anupstream approach to addressing problems unlesschronic absence is tracked and monitored or eachstudent. Ensuring every child has an equal oppor-tunity to reach his or her potential requires makingsure every child is present, engaged and accounted

or as soon as they begin school.


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26

L O C A L I T I E S

1 2 3 4 5 6 732 8 9

Type f cmmunity uba uba uba uba &bba

/ a

ubaa

bba

uba uba uba uba &bba

geaphic ein mi-Aai

rymai

nw

sAai

s Pai mi-Aai

nea

sAai

Funin fmula Fa

Fa

Fa

AdA Fa

AdA Fa

n a spi/Fa

Ae f cmpulsyattenance

5-16 7-17 6-16 6-16 6-16 6-18 8-17 6-16 6-16

Ttal stuent pp 82,381 73,399 31,598 125,504 48,025 41,467 18,623 24,800 32,842

gaes P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12 P-12

Ttal K-3 stuents 24,193 29,155 9,123 41,782 29,267 13,154 5,653 7,595 11,576

% chnicallyabsent K-333

17.4 12.9 6.0 13.8 8.6 12.0 26.7 22.7 5.4

% meatelyabsent K-3

24.6 24.1 24.0 25.7 25.1 21.9 37.3 33.4 20.2

% Latin K-3 2.80 59.80 18.00 6.38 4.50 38.70 2.10 60.30 4.30

% Black K-3 87.10 16.90 17.90 42.40 35.60 34.50 95.20 20.90 61.20

% White K-3 9.10 19.00 54.50 42.68 53.80 8.50 2.00 12.80 29.80

% API K-3 0.80 3.20 5.60 3.51 2.30 17.50 0.30 5.20 1.80

% othe K-3 0.20 1.10 4.10 4.87 2.80 3.30 0.80 0.08 2.80

% Enlish leanesK-3

2.50 nA 16.9 1.92 3.6 38.9 1.1 26.3 nA

% Special eucatinK-3

14.30 nA 9.1 21.78 16.7 7.8 14.7 16.4 10.1

% K-3 esiin inhih pvety censustacts

28 nA 6.90 nA 11.8 17.1 nA 71.7 12.6

Appenix A: demaphic Chaacteistics f Paticipatin Lcalities


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Check & Connect, Minneapolis, MN

Check & Connect was rst developed as a truancyprevention model among urban middle and high

school students and initially with a special educationpopulation. But it is now used with a general studentpopulation and has been successully piloted withelementary age children as well. Its comprehensiveapproach emphasizes relationship building, routinemonitoring o alterable indicators (or instance,attendance, academic perormance, behavior), indi-vidual and timely intervention, problem-solving andstrengthening aliations between school and learn-ing. A key component is a monitor or mentor who isresponsible or working with students and their ami-lies to support their participation and engagement in

school. Among elementary aged children, a monitorengages in amily outreach and helps parents to beactive partners in their childrens education. Monitorsare typically trained proessional social workers whooperate at the district level so that they can continueto work with children even i they move to a dierentschool. An evaluation o Check & Connects imple-mentation in nine elementary schools showed sig-nicant increases in the percentage o students whoseabsences or tardies dropped below ve percent o thetime. School sta also reported increased engage-ment among students and their parents.

Program Contact: Sandra Christianson, proessor,University o Minnesota, School o Psychology([email protected])

Project GRAD/ Communities in Schools,Atlanta, GA

Project GRAD Atlanta is a research-based school-community collaborative designed to improvestudent academic perormance, and increase the

numbers o young people graduating rom highschool and attending college. CIS implements theFamily Support Component o Project GRAD. CISsta in GRAD schools oer guidance, counseling,community outreach, and amily support services toall students, especially those experiencing academicdiculties or amily issues. Project GRAD Atlantawas initiated in 2000 and now impacts more than16,000 students in 27 Atlanta schools, including

18 elementary schools, six middle schools andthree high schools. Te overall Project GRADmodel involves working in a school eeder patternand helping them to implementing the ollowing

elements: reading curriculum, math curriculum,parent and community involvement, social services,academic enrichment, and classroom management.Data tracked by CIS shows in schools where theprogram has been in place or more than tow years,the average percent o students missing 15 or moredays in schools ell rom 18% to 9 % rom 2001-2006.

Program Contact:Patricia Pum, executive director,Cities in Schools o Atlanta ([email protected] )

Project PACT (Partnering to Assess andCounteract Truancy), Oahu, HI

Project PAC included a school based programworking with students and amilies o two elemen-tary school serving low-income students on theHawaiian island o Oahu. Each school had anattendance monitor hired rom the communitywhose primary purpose was to work with teachersand counselors to identiy and address the needso students with attendance problems and theiramilies. While the school retains primarily respon-

sibility or contacting and convening meetings withparents o absent children, the attendance monitorbuilds relationships with parents and encour-ages them to help their child engage in school.Tey also serve as responsible caring adults orstudents who, unortunately, have none at home. Iabsences continue, parents are encouraged to attendparenting attendance workshops helping them learnnew parenting skills and understand the importanceo regular school attendance. Because some parentsneed a little push, the services o Child ProtectiveServices and the courts were used as needed. A

review o the data maintained on-line on programparticipants shows an improvement in attendanceand a signicant decrease in unexcused absences(rom 19.55 at intake to 5.03 aer six months) aswell as a decline in tardies and excused absences.

Program Contact: Patrick Nakamura, College oEducation, University o Hawaii ([email protected])

Appenix B: Examples f Pmisin Pams f reucin Chnic Ealy Absence


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Savannah Chatham School District,Savannah, GA

Te Savannah Chatham School District takes avery thorough and comprehensive district-wideapproach to addressing chronic absenteeism. Aerthree days o absence letters are sent home. I the

child is absent ve or more days, a social workerpays a home visit to nd out what is happening andto help the child return to school. By the 10 days,several agencies including the police are involvedin determining how to improve the situation.Within each school, the principal receives a datadashboard showing him or her which childrenhave been absent and or how long. Te principalconvenes weekly attendance meetings with thesocial worker, counselor and teacher to review thesituation, i appropriate with the parent as well. Atthe district levels, a Student ruancy

chronic absence

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