Administrators from one New York school district are headed to the White House on Wednesday. They’ll be discussing their approach to an issue plaguing schools across the country: chronic absenteeism.
“For once, a little school system like us is going to be recognized but not only that we get to advocate for school across the country,” said Nicole Panton, director of curriculum and instruction in the Greater Johnstown School District.
Like many school administrators, GJSD administrators are dealing with chronic absenteeism, students who miss 10% of the school year, which typically equates to 18 days.
“At one point, we were cited by the state education department as a school needing improvement,” Johnstown High School Principal Scott Hale said.
There are several factors believed to be contributing to the trend.
“Mental health, engagement, a multitude of things,” Hale said. “They’re disinterested in school. They may have come from households where education is not a priority.”
School leaders initially leaned on traditional methods to try and curb chronic absenteeism, like notifying and warning parents about the adverse impacts of missing school.
“One missed day actually equates to two days missed learning for a student,” Panton explained. “And that is one of the facts we share with families.”
But they found the warnings were too punitive and ineffective. That led to a partnership with Attendance Works, a non-profit specializing in identifying the causes of a student’s absenteeism.
“Each child has their own story and I think it was digging down to each child to figure out what their real story was in order to figure out how we can best help them,” Panton said.
Their next step was to launch a mentorship program.
“They’re creating that connective relationship with those students,” Hale explained. “Talking about attendance and talking about them being here and talking about the issues that may be hindering them from being here.”
The impact was immediate, with the high school’s absenteeism rate dropping from almost 36% during the 2021-2022 school year to less than 27% the following year.
“Ultimately, we found that by improving our attendance, we started to improve our academics as well,” Panton said.
The success has garnered national attention. Hale will be a presenter during Wednesday’s White House Every Day Counts Summit in DC.
“I think maybe when I walk in the room and look around, of course, it’s going to be eye-opening,” he said. “But I’m excited to be a part of the conversation.”
The district is one of only four schools chosen to participate, and while there is an opportunity to tout what’s been achieved, administrators said they will also be taking notes.
“[We’re] trying to find other strategies we can bring back to our school system and try to implement here as well,” Panton said, “especially for those ones that we’re still struggling with.”