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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.
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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.
Join this network
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.

Join this network

Featured Resources

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A teenage boy in a blue sweatshirt sits at a table with science materials, talking to others in a busy classroom filled with students working on projects.
Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
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Strengthening School Connectedness to Increase Student Success
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Reducing Student Absenteeism
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I think one of the first things we can do, particularly in education, to bring the dreaming back in is to listen to the children.
Brandi Hinnant-Crawford

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I think one of the first things we can do, particularly in education, to bring the dreaming back in is to listen to the children.”
Brandi Hinnant-Crawford

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Brandi-Hinnant-Crawdford_WEB
Improvement for transformation is about shifting from egosystems to ecosystems.
David Montes de Oca

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A smiling bald man, identified as Derek Mitchell, with a trimmed mustache and goatee wears glasses on his head, a buttoned olive green shirt, and small earrings. The background is transparent.
Improvement for transformation is about shifting from egosystems to ecosystems.”
David Montes de Oca

Title / Affiliation

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A smiling bald man, identified as Derek Mitchell, with a trimmed mustache and goatee wears glasses on his head, a buttoned olive green shirt, and small earrings. The background is transparent.

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.

Sofi Frankowski

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A woman with shoulder-length light brown hair, wearing glasses, large hoop earrings, and a dark patterned top, smiles broadly against a blurred blue background at Derek Mitchell’s event.

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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Sofi Frankowski

Title / Affiliation

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A woman with shoulder-length light brown hair, wearing glasses, large hoop earrings, and a dark patterned top, smiles broadly against a blurred blue background at Derek Mitchell’s event.
You have to begin with the absence of fear. Fear and improvement are not compatible. Fear and learning are not compatible. When a kid is scared, they’re too busy being scared to learn. The same is true in organizations.
Don Berwick

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An older man with white hair and glasses, wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and patterned tie, poses in front of a light, blurred background.
You have to begin with the absence of fear. Fear and improvement are not compatible. Fear and learning are not compatible. When a kid is scared, they’re too busy being scared to learn. The same is true in organizations.”
Don Berwick

Title / Affiliation

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An older man with white hair and glasses, wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and patterned tie, poses in front of a light, blurred background.
How do we make sure that students are set up in ninth grade to be post-secondary ready? These conversations are happening in grade nine in our improvement teams. This is not something additional that we’re doing. This is part of who we are. This is the way we work to support all our students.
Nichelle Woodson

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Nichelle-Woodson_WEB
How do we make sure that students are set up in ninth grade to be post-secondary ready? These conversations are happening in grade nine in our improvement teams. This is not something additional that we’re doing. This is part of who we are. This is the way we work to support all our students.”
Nichelle Woodson

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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.

Vanessa Ruiz

Title / Affiliation

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Vanessa-Ruiz_WEB

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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Vanessa Ruiz

Title / Affiliation

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Vanessa-Ruiz_WEB

Spotlight Stories

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An Improvement Project Tackling Chronic Absenteeism
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferdinand T. Day (FTD), a Title 1 elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, noticed an alarming increase in chronic absenteeism rates that disproportionately impacted Hispanic students
An Improvement Project Tackling Chronic Absenteeism
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferdinand T. Day (FTD), a Title 1 elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, noticed an alarming increase in chronic absenteeism rates that disproportionately impacted Hispanic students
An Improvement Project Tackling Chronic Absenteeism
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferdinand T. Day (FTD), a Title 1 elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, noticed an alarming increase in chronic absenteeism rates that disproportionately impacted Hispanic students
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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.
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