Students across the country are breaking a record, but it’s not one to write home about. The rate of chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss 10% of the school year or more, is at an all-time high. It’s not just their education being affected, it’s their future.
Students are missing school at a record rate. The San Luis Coastal Unified School District had under 10% of students hitting the benchmark for chronic absenteeism before the pandemic. That number more than doubled to 24% in 2022. This year, it’s back down to 15% district-wide.
All that comes with a cost.
“It's more the community and sense of belonging that they miss and really can't get back just by turning something in online,” said Lisa Yamashita, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
Yamashita says students who are chronically absent throughout their school years end up missing about a year’s worth of education and time spent with fellow students by the time they graduate.
But what’s the root cause of kids not showing up time after time? Yamashita says it ranges from student to student. It can be a combination of hesitance with sickness, their home lives, along with everyday challenges that coincide with being a student.
“It is really important that we respect and understand parents’ viewpoints and their priorities and come alongside as a partner,” Yamashita said. “Not chastise them about doing it wrong, but instead to help educate them about the possible outcomes if they continue to choose to be absent.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a massive shift to virtual learning, but Yamashita says finishing assignments via virtual learning doesn’t cut it when it comes to future success.
“By ninth grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation than eighth grade test scores,” Yamashita said.
The question now is, how can districts right the ship and get kids back in the classroom?
“The number one factor for getting kids back in school is making school engaging and fun, and the students and families need to know that when they're not there, it impacts everyone, and we miss them and want them back," Yamashita said. "Making sure that we remove barriers for students that for some reason don't want to or can't overcome barriers to getting into school.”
Yamashita says the district offers a plethora of resources for students coming from all different backgrounds, including brand new wellness centers that opened this year at San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay High Schools.
On the flip side, it’s not just the students being negatively affected by their lack of attendance, their educators are feeling it, too.
"Teaching is all about the relationship business, and when you start seeing kids absent, you're missing that opportunity to connect with them,” said Phil Angel, an eighth grade history teacher at Los Osos Middle School and the district’s union president. “For me, I worry about my kids. Why are they not here? How can I catch them up?"
Yamashita says it’s unlikely the district will return to pre-pandemic numbers because teachers and students are less likely to come to school sick and have a better sense of when it’s appropriate to be around others.
According to the American Enterprise Institute, the rate of chronic absenteeism across the nation nearly doubled between 2019 and 2022, from 15% to 28%. That number improved to 26% in 2023, but it's still well above pre-pandemic levels. More than a quarter of all students across the country are missing 10% or more of the school year.
In Santa Barbara County, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District went from 13% to 22% during that period, while the Santa Maria-Bonita School District more than tripled, from 6% in 2019 to 19% in 2023.
