Chronic Absenteeism
Why this matters
More than 15 million students are missing too much school. We know that students who are chronically absent are less likely to read at grade level, graduate from high school, and attend college. For improvers like us, this isn’t just a data point – it’s a call to action. All young people deserve an education that empowers them to thrive. Continuous improvement gives us a sustainable, collaborative process for identifying gaps and building bridges to support every student’s growth.
Chronic absenteeism isn’t a mystery. It’s a reflection of the ways our current systems are failing to support all our students – and the opportunities we have to build better ones.
We all know what it’s like to work hard to support students and families, only to feel like we’re patching together partial fixes. Chronic absenteeism is shaped by overlapping challenges that show up differently for every student, but the roots are structural. That means our solutions must be structural, too!
With continuous improvement, we can find ways to respond to root causes and meet distinct needs – all while keeping young people deeply engaged in school.
As improvers, we study the problems our students and families face and the conditions we need to shift. We learn how our colleagues have successfully fostered stronger engagement and support for young people and their families. We develop change ideas that promote real belonging for students and real partnerships with families. We refine what works and build on it. Together, we can create learning environments that encourage and inspire success for every young person.
RAISE Network
Every child. Every day. Across California.
Chronic absenteeism has reached critical levels in California, and is disproportionately high among our most vulnerable students. We unite educators, families, community leaders, and organizations to design and share innovative solutions and reduce absenteeism across the state. Together, we can build a brighter future for California’s students.
National Attendance & Engagement Meta Network
Connecting Existing Efforts Across the Country.
The meta network brings district, state, and network teams together who are already working to reduce chronic absenteeism. By sharing our work and deepening our learning, we are accelerating our collective results and impact nationwide.
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Over and over, folks in our networks, particularly classroom teachers, have come to us and said, Thank you. You don’t think we’re broken. You think we are the solution.
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Over and over, folks in our networks, particularly classroom teachers, have come to us and said, Thank you. You don’t think we’re broken. You think we are the solution.
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Looking at focus students, being able to identify trends and be able to apply very clear, specific change ideas is what I believe our school and teacher community needed to continue to grow.
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Looking at focus students, being able to identify trends and be able to apply very clear, specific change ideas is what I believe our school and teacher community needed to continue to grow.
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Spotlight Stories
Who else is working on this problem?
Who else is working
on this problem?
Across schools, districts and organizations, our partners – dedicated improvers like you – are striving to reduce chronic absenteeism. The teams below are building, testing and sharing the critical practices needed to support student belonging and engagement. Explore their work and join in.
