With Kids' Futures at Risk, Schools Seek New Ways to Lower Chronic Absenteeism

The state of Arkansas cares deeply about the wellbeing of its students, as evidenced by its flourishing system of alternative schools that provide extra counseling in academics, social and mental support, and research-backed techniques that reduce bad behavior, poor grades, and absenteeism. The schools even work to dismantle the taboo around alternative schools, presenting them as an intervention rather than a punishment. The introduction of these schools correlates with a decline in Arkansas' overall dropout rate from 2002 to 2012, and nearly 10% of its graduates have spent time in alternative education.

In 1997, researchers found a connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult health problems. Seattle's public schools are part of a growing cohort nationwide applying this knowledge in the classroom to help students who are facing immense challenges at home. By considering external stresses and factors, such as divorce, domestic violence, or family substance abuse (All ACEs), teachers are slower to jump to judgement or punishment. After four years of teacher training, Bemiss Elementary School is getting results, with a 33 percent decrease in suspensions for the 2014 school year.

In some regions of Czechia, “one in 10 children fails to advance to the next grade.” Every year 2,000 students drop out. One school in the town of Trmice doesn’t have this problem. The school has low dropout rates and the number of students going on to university keeps growing. Their model of empathy, understanding, avoiding punishment, and establishing deep-rooted relationships with families and students is working. “To react with understanding.” “Trmice’s success depends on two things: good communication with families and work with the teaching staff.”

Minnesota schools began a comprehensive program aimed at assisting children of minority groups to successfully navigate the college application process and push them towards higher education.

The MYENJAY Hope and Healing Foundation provides mental health awareness and sensitization efforts regarding substance use among young students. Volunteers from the program visit schools to talk to students, providing interventions and educational resources to help them understand the dangers of drug use. School officials say that since the program began talking with students, they have seen a significant increase in good behavior and a reduction in substance use.

To enhance learning, Smart Primary School has integrated peer-mentoring in its curriculum through the Buddy program. Each student in the first grade is paired with a fifth grader who tutors and guides the younger one with lessons and activities for the next four years. The program has not just helped them improve their language, communication, and mathematics skills, but also helped enhance the school atmosphere through the trust and bonding students build in the process.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the St. Paul school district switched from a letter grade structure to a pass/fail system. A trend that was seen across other districts in the states. The move came after the pandemic resulted in an increase in students failing classes across the district and was part of a “do no harm” philosophy. Data shows the change helped some students and some said they felt more supported. The move is part of a larger effort the district is trying to prevent students from failing like credit recovery.

Research shows tutoring can increase learning. Two years into the pandemic, the exact rates of learning loss due to pandemic learning are still unknown, but its effects have been documented. Researchers, teachers, and academics are advocating for “high dosage,” or “high impact," tutoring (a form of tutoring where one tutor is paired with one student, or a group of small students) at a national level. Students at Chicago public schools who got high impact tutoring “two to three times as much as their peers.”

English language learners in Cleveland, Ohio are getting the help they need to get through school through bilingual learning pods. Esperanza Inc., a local non-profit, opened up centers for Spanish-speaking students catch up on their remote learning lessons, but the crucial part was staffing the center with bilingual staff. The centers currently have a waitlist and serve anywhere from 40-50 students.

In order to keep track of students and prevent them from dropping out, the Nashville district created “Navigators.” A corps of 5,600 school employees- teachers, lunchroom workers, and bookkeepers, who track students through weekly phone and video calls. The navigators have “completed roughly 220,000 calls to parents and students since school started in August,” each with a caseload of 6 to 12 students. Their conversations have led from everything to helping students complete assignments, to buying groceries, to finding out students are homeless.