Junior Tia Munyaradzi sits alone surrounded by empty desks. Schools are beginning to recover from unprecedented absenteeism sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, but districts are still worried about the lingering effects. "What I have found recently because I teach mostly seniors, tardies are increasing, absences are increasing,” English teacher Jacqueline Farley said. “It’s hard for me to stay on top of holding kids accountable at the end of the day.” Photo by Zoie Carlile
By Isabella Navarro
The bell rings, but nobody walks through the door.
Middle school attendance clerk Sara De Oliveira has observed that attendance rates are still struggling in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are less students in seventh grade than in eighth grade but they usually have twice as many absences,” De Oliveira said. “For example, if this school’s ADA, average daily attendance, is 92%, seventh grade is usually 89% and eighth grade will be 94%. Seventh grade is bringing the school average down.”
According to a federal survey at the Washington Post, only 90% of students were present at school in the fall of 2023, causing national concern regarding chronic absenteeism.
De Oliveira explained how attendance is handled at the middle school, stating that students can only have a maximum of nine absences every semester.
“The state requires that every single student be in their class 90% of the time to receive credit for that class,” De Oliveira said.
One way the middle school ensures that students keep up with their attendance is by staying in contact with parents. When a student goes over the maximum number of absences, the attendance committee will review the student’s file, speak to their teachers and look over their grades in order to determine a course of action.
The middle school is also trying out a new initiative called “here everyday, ready and on time.” This approach incentives both students and staff members to be present as much as possible.
“Everyday we calculate the average attendance for the whole school,” De Oliveira said. “We all kind of compete against each other to have the highest average daily attendance at the end of the week, like a contest.”
In contrast to the middle school, the high school has more guidelines regarding student attendance. Assistant principal Annuar Ortiz explained his routine when dealing with chronically absent students.
"For students to be successful they need to be on campus, going to class and getting instruction so that’s our goal.”
“I have a weekly meeting with my secretary and we go over all of the students that have more than 3 absences,” Ortiz said. “If we start noticing that the absences are climbing, I like to call the student in. If there is a very good reason why they were out, I just speak to the student and try to help them understand it’s really important that [they’re at school].”
If students at the high school continue to miss classes, there are possible consequences such as behavior contracts. With a behavior contract, Ortiz outlines the expectations for the chronically absent students, such as not being late to class, not having any unexcused absences and reporting to the attendance office if they're absent.
“We will [also] collaborate with the teachers to come up with a good academic plan of recovery,” he said. “Sometimes that means that we are streamlining the assignments that they’re doing, or we’re paring [assignments] down in a way that will allow them to get caught back up with their peers.”
Ortiz prefers the behavior contract over other methods, as it holds a sense of formality and structure for the students and himself.
“I like the formality of the behavior contract, it brings a gravity and a seriousness, and I think it’s important to put your signature down on a piece of paper,” Ortiz said. “There’s no excuses, I find that that gives a good result.”
Ortiz explains that each assistant principal has their own way of working with students, but they all collaborate in order to improve their students' attendance and behavior. The assistant principals also encourage struggling students to talk with their school counselors, as students are oftentimes more open with their counselors.
“A lot of the work is actually done between the assistant principal and the counselors,” Ortiz said. “I do quite a bit of collaboration with counselors so that they are calling students in and checking in on them.”
English teacher Jacqueline Farley explains that as absences are increasing, her concern for students increases as well.
“What I have found recently because I teach mostly seniors, tardies are increasing, absences are increasing,” Farley said. “It’s hard for me to stay on top of holding kids accountable at the end of the day.”.
Farley said that it's especially important parents show concern with their children’s attendance. Teachers are put in a tough situation when parents aren’t responsive.
“I think the reason why a lot of teachers are struggling with attendance right now is students aren’t following up or they aren’t handing in those assignments, and that’s when it becomes an issue."
“Obviously better attendance leads to more true student performance, higher grades, more preparation for college and in short holding kids accountable,” Farley said. “I think that some parents [who] are contacted just aren’t showing concern about getting their kids at school.”
According to Farley, more seniors are absent this year than any other of her five years teaching at the school. She worries that the students aren’t taking accountability for their missed work.
“I think the reason why a lot of teachers are struggling with attendance right now is students aren’t following up or they aren’t handing in those assignments, and that’s when it becomes an issue,” Farley said. “In previous years, if a kid missed a quiz or a test they were emailing me and rescheduling it, whereas now I feel like I have to force this [assignment] into your hand or you’re not going to do it.”
Another problem is many students get by with frequent tardiness, making it difficult to encourage them to be on time. The school’s official handbook, the Kiltie, deals with this problem by factoring tardies into total absences.
“I do appreciate that, in the Kiltie, tardies effect exemptions, because I think that helps hold a lot of kids accountable,” Farley said. “If anything, it feels like a select few students are repeat offenders and then there’s not a lot of communication on how to deal with disciplining those students because [the approach] is supposed to be ‘teacher-forward.’”
When Farley taught at a Plano high school, Saturday school was a requirement for students who were chronically absent. She believes that a similar approach would work well at all schools.
“[Saturday school] was heavily enforced. That to me felt like it worked, and it felt like the students were held accountable,” Farley said. “Saturday school was never a punishment, it was a time to make up for missed work.”
At the end of the day, the challenge of chronic absenteeism is addressed differently based on each student's individual situation. However, Ortiz remains steady in the district’s goal to keep students on track and in class.
“There’s multiple ways to address [student absences] and it’s usually a tiered approach,” Ortiz said. “For students to be successful they need to be on campus, going to class and getting instruction so that’s our goal.”