Schools across the country are finding that one of the most challenging hurdles to helping students recover from the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic is getting them to come to the classroom at all.
Chronic absenteeism, which was a problem long before COVID-19, has become a crisis in the eyes of many experts. Up to 16 million children — a third of the total U.S. public school population — missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 academic year, according to an estimate by the nonprofit group Attendance Works. That’s double the number of chronically absent students during the 2018-19 school year.
Absenteeism is up nationwide but has been particularly acute in some of thecountry’sbiggestcities, including some where more than half of students missed significant chunks of the last school year.
Research shows that kids who are chronically absent are much more likely to struggle academically and drop out of high school. Absenteeism has also been linked to a host of negative outcomes outside of school, including teen pregnancy, drug use and delinquency.
Read more at AOL.com
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