Fast Facts on Chronic Absenteeism
Conejo Valley Unified School District
CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM is defined as missing 10% or more of a school year for excused OR unexcused reasons. Students who miss two or more school days per month are chronically absent.
- Only 17% of students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are reading at grade level by the time they are in 3rd grade[i]
- By 6th grade, chronic absenteeism becomes an early warning sign that a student is at risk of dropping out of high school[ii]
- Students chronically absent any year between 8th through 12th grade are seven times more likely to drop out of high school[iii]
Students with less than five absences per school year perform better academically and form meaningful relationships with peers and adults.
· Speak to your child in positive terms about school
· Create routines such as a standard bedtime, homework time, and wake up time
· Form a back-up plan for getting to school in the event of car trouble or other emergencies
· Show interest in your child’s academic and socio-emotional learning
· If your child misses school due to illness, report the absence to the school’s attendance office
[i] “Mapping the Early Attendance Gap: Charting a Course for School Success,” attendanceworks.org
[ii] Balfanz, R., Herzon, L., and Mac Iver, D. J. Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle-grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist, 2007; 42(4), 223–235.
[iii] . “Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools: An unprecedented look at a hidden educational crisis.” U.S. Department of Education, 2016, https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html
Conejo Valley Unified School District
Website: http://www.conejousd.org/
Location: 1400 East Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
Phone: 805-497-9511
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @ConejoValleyUSD