Education officials seek team approach to fight chronic absenteeism - by Kathryn Baron
More than 80 percent of students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade read below grade level after third grade. Source: Applied Survey Research, May 2011
Backed by the knowledge that the first symptom of academic failure is an empty desk, state education officials are putting a priority on battling chronic absenteeism by enlisting support across state agencies.
The California Department of Education convened a first-of-its-kind forum last month of state and local experts from school districts, health and social services agencies, district attorneys’ offices and advocacy groups. The goal: to get them to work cooperatively to keep children in school.
“We can have our best teachers in place, but if our students are not there, it doesn’t make a difference,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in his opening remarks, where he stressed that schools alone cannot solve this problem.
A 2010 California law defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent or more of the typical 180-day school year, the equivalent of about one month of school. Most states use a similar standard and researchers estimate that nationwide, as many as 7.5 million students a year are chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism includes excused and unexcused absences and out-of-school
