CT schools see continuing rise in chronic absenteeism

Submitted by ctmirror t3_10q1nny in Connecticut

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic absenteeism (defined as a student missing 10% of in-class instruction time) has doubled in Connecticut schools.

Interestingly, students with high needs — like English language learners, students with disabilities and those who receive free lunches or are experiencing homelessness — are returning to school at higher rates than students without high needs.

More here: https://ctmirror.org/2023/01/27/ct-chronic-absenteeism-rate-school-students/

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smkmn13 t1_j6nagc7 wrote

The 10% threshold for "chronic absenteeism" is actually pretty low. That's not to say we shouldn't be working on kids getting to school when they can, but we're also doing a better job now than pre-COVID on keeping kids home when they're not feeling well, combined with multiple illnesses hitting hard after a couple years of relative isolation.

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phabphour20 t1_j6nv0hs wrote

Yeah. That’s one day every two weeks or 2-3 days in a month. My kids probably do that from colds and flu and Covid.

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lazy-but-talented t1_j6o9ga6 wrote

I was going to say a day every 2-3 weeks is a lot, but I think I just had super strict parents because i got sent to school sick all the time. staying home sick was the same as playing hooky

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phabphour20 t1_j6ohylv wrote

For me and my family (and my co-workers), the calculus has changed since Covid. We used to send kids to school with coughs or runny noses all the time. Now the bar is a bit higher (or lower) and we keep them home more to be safe. I hope other parents in our community are doing the same. It is much easier now for a lot of people to work from home and thus not need emergency childcare for a sick day.

The days of being a martyr and coming into the office when sick are certainly over. At least in the white collar office environment where I work. I just log in from home and do Zoom meetings when necessary.

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lazy-but-talented t1_j6ov2yd wrote

I’ve worked from home for nearly 3 years and I definitely feel insulated to a lot of the problems surrounding a sick day, I can save sick time and stretch out a work day or just call out easily.

COVID has created far greater disparities in money needed vs money being earned, some people are definitely working more hours or more jobs to pay for their necessities and can’t afford to take a sick day and still go into work sick.

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Nyrfan2017 t1_j6ph6z9 wrote

I was going to say the same thing … also I recall schools having like ten missed days and you could be kept back. That was a very long time ago but still

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Levlove t1_j6ny4e8 wrote

Not to mention, if they are counting last year a lot of schools had very strict policies regarding Covid isolation. If a kid wasn’t able to isolate, their 10 days of monitoring ended 10 days after the Covid positive person’s 10 days. I tested positive 12 days after the rest of my family and restarted my daughter’s clock - had she not tested positive herself she would have been out for a minimum of 32 days. She ended up being home for 24 days instead. Luckily, most of our house was positive all at once, and not like dominoes. She did attend remote learning, but not all the teachers did it every day and if there was a sub, she was marked absent for that class.

We got the obligatory “your kid has been chronically absent” letter with a sticky note telling us it was just a state requirement to send it, and they were well aware of why she had been home and not to worry about it.

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NLCmanure t1_j6o6ohw wrote

yeah, that's like 36 minutes per day if based on a 6 hour in-class day. Sort of like a lunch break or being late everyday.

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[deleted] t1_j6nbed7 wrote

[deleted]

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jessiyjazzy123 t1_j6o5pep wrote

That's ridiculous that it isn't excused. My daughter had it two weeks ago and letting me know her quarantine time would be excused was one of the first things her nurse did. Kids shouldn't be at school sick. That's how you get more sick kids.

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IAmThe0neWhoKn0ckss t1_j6ornr0 wrote

In our district, being sick with a doctors note doesn’t matter. Excused absences are still counted as absences.

Last year, my kid broke his arm (missed one day), got covid, got the flu and missed one other day (…the day after he had been assaulted by another kid in class) and the school still gave me problems. Only one absence didn’t have a note and I think the total was like 12 days.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t send him sick but keeping him home is an issue.

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1234nameuser t1_j6nffv3 wrote

lols, we've been absent more than 10% from covid / rsv alone

I'm sure tons of others as well

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jay_sugman t1_j6o3q2w wrote

Yeah, this year has been crazy with week long respiratory sicknesses. Definitely seems like we're suffering through a backlog of sick days this year now that kids are back to normal.

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ThePermafrost t1_j6noqx3 wrote

The CT school year is 180 days. 10% of that is missing only 18 days of school per year. Figure that a lot of families will take 3-5 days off for vacations, a kid will be sick twice during the year requiring 2-3 days off each, throw in a funeral or two for 2 days off, a mental health day or two, and about 2 days worth of half-days for Dr./Dentist appointments and you’re already at the 10% mark. Covid just pushes that over the edge.

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l33tb4c0n t1_j6nsyy7 wrote

As other comments have pointed out, there's a lot that contributes to this - it's a pretty low threshold, we understand better that it's actually GOOD to stay home if you're sick...

As a teacher until just last year, one of the things I think is contributing is a lack of consequences for the child and/or parents. Say a kid is chronically absent. What exactly happens to them? They might get some detentions (which of course they won't serve because they're already absent). But the teacher is still held responsible for catching them up when they return, regardless of how many days they miss. By the end of my career, it was no longer "What work should I do to catch up?" but rather "What are you, the teacher, going to do for me?". It's very, VERY rare that a kid has to actually repeat a grade; schools will do whatever they can to avoid that. In essence, I don't think kids (and even some parents) actually care about making sure attendance at school is as consistent as possible.

But there are a LOT of problems with our educational system, and this is just one sign that it's very much a failing system.

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husky429 t1_j6o9b27 wrote

School administrator here. A lot of reasons for this, but a big one is DCF does not pursue educational neglect any more.

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StevieMac97 t1_j6ozljk wrote

Good.

Kids aren't designed to sit at a desk for 7 hours a day

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werdnak84 t1_j6o825o wrote

This is what happens when a failing educational system insists that children who are known to spread diseases more frequently then adults and who don't know much about personal space or obeying government regulations attend a building 5 days a week where they're next to each other in enclosed areas for eight hours a day.

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new_Australis t1_j6pjvcz wrote

My kid keeps getting sick. Cough, fever, runny nose, body chills. Negative covid though. He gets sick in school. Then has to miss a few days.

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[deleted] t1_j6nciht wrote

[deleted]

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smkmn13 t1_j6nl2o1 wrote

You might be right, but this is an article about chronic absenteeism - treating attendance issues as a "bad behavior" misses the point.

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SadAd9756 t1_j6nkg8t wrote

I don't understand why your comments got downvoted. You are correct!

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MTGBruhs t1_j6nnda5 wrote

Well, american public school is a joke so ..

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Miles_vel_Day t1_j6ns45j wrote

Ridiculous overgeneralization. What, did you go to Choate or something?

US public schools actually perform very well, comparable to Western European schools (if not quite Finland quality) in states (like CT) that invest in them - the national averages are dragged down by places like West Virginia and Mississippi. (CT K-12 public schools are ranked #3 nationally.)

Now, our large urban school districts aren't doing great, but that's because the way schools are funded (with local taxes) is absolutely unjust.

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MTGBruhs t1_j6nv3tk wrote

Common course cirriculum is ridiculous and doesn't prepare people for real life.

American public school is glorified babysitting, it's an important job and important for kids to go to learn and socialize but I don't blame the kids. Especially after having to do zoom school for two years with teachers who are: in pajamas, half-drunk, phoning it in or some combo of all 3.

Kids should go to school but we all know school is bullshit so what do you do? Truency officers? Get the parents involved?

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StealthTrout t1_j6nwmjh wrote

You literally know nothing about what it's like being a teacher or how much work they had to put in throughout the pandemic on top of the incredible workload they already have. Stop making gross generalizations that you aren't qualified to speak on. Source: I live with a teacher

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Miles_vel_Day t1_j6o10tx wrote

Could've stopped after "literally know nothing." This guy is just regurgitating dumb tropes and obviously has no knowledge of the actual situation in the classroom.

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MTGBruhs t1_j6o0x0o wrote

I have teachers in my family also. The one's I know work hard. I'm sure the teachers you know work hard too. We both know there are teachers that do not work hard. I have no problem with a teacher if they are working hard but let's face it, the American education system puts them up against it. Not enough pay, too many students, poor conditions in the classroom etc. Then put on top of that having to teach kids who aren't even in the same room as you. The pandemic has drastically put both students and teachers behind the 8-ball when it comes to quality education and many are chosing to check out. That should come as no suprize, because school is bullshit in the first place, most of the current American cirriculum can be learned on youtube faster and better in most cases

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EarthExile t1_j6o67l5 wrote

I assume you meant "Common Core?" You should watch your conspiracy videos with subtitles if you want to pretend to have any idea what you're talking about

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MTGBruhs t1_j6ogyv9 wrote

You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge, I was educated in a public school in America

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EarthExile t1_j6ojqeq wrote

Take some responsibility and crack a book from time to time

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MTGBruhs t1_j6okyvd wrote

I was clearly being facetious but okay. I'm actually waiting on a few books from amazon today. Should be a good read!

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EarthExile t1_j6ox4hb wrote

So your education seems to have worked out fine, then.

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MTGBruhs t1_j6p0se6 wrote

Only from my own personal efforts. I'm a naturally curious person and have a higher IQ than most. I do watch rick and morty after all

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smkmn13 t1_j6nwf4a wrote

Did you read the article?

"To help combat the student chronic absenteeism crisis, the state launched a new program called the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP) in April 2021 for 15 Connecticut school districts"

"The report claims that “attendance rates increased by about four percentage points in the month immediately following the first LEAP visit” and highlighted Hartford Public Schools for attendance rates increasing by “nearly 30 percentage points in the six months or more after treatment.”"

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MTGBruhs t1_j6o31c6 wrote

It was wise of the state to use Covid funds for this purpose since this was directly affected by covid but that doesn't change what I said about the current American cirriculum. I don't think it should come as a suprize that kids are skipping school after spending 2 yrs at home and getting some of the worst education that we've ever seen

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