Change in strategy cut chronic absenteeism at LEAD Academy

Chronic absenteeism has been an ongoing issue for public schools nationwide and it only increased following the pandemic.LEAD Academy in Nashville was no exception.To combat the issue, the public charter high school took an aggressive and comprehensive approach by implementing a new set of strategies that led to a drop in the number of chronically absent students from 42 percent in the 2021/2022 school year to 22 percent last year.LEAD Academy leaders believe balancing accountability and celebration was the key to cutting those numbers in half.“Kids can’t learn when they aren’t in school, but it’s much deeper than that,” said LEAD Academy 2022/2023 school year Principal Dr. Tony Majors. “When students see value in coming to school, they’re personally invested in their educational experience at a higher level, which leads to new opportunities and creates an environment of better academic performance.”Chronic absenteeism is when a student misses more than 10 percent or more of instructional days in a school year. Schools with a high population of economically disadvantaged students often see the highest numbers of absenteeism.Reasons for students continuously being absent vary, however the most common ones relate to family obligations, family health, having a job due to financial responsibilities, a school having minimal resources and investment, and an apathy towards learning.“It is our collective responsibility to invest in our students and families being here,” said director of college and career at LEAD Public Schools Courtney McEwen, “That’s how we help students achieve their most ambitious secondary plans. We care that they’re here, and if there’s a reason that they’re not, we have to ask how we can support them.”LEAD Academy staff worked to increase the relationship between staff and students so they would be more motivated to come to school. School leaders added new positions dedicated to overseeing chronic absences and turned the responsibility into a shared one among the teachers and staff. This included teachers making calls to families and operation teams making home visits.LEAD wanted the students to know they were seen.“One thing that cannot be overstated is that we recognized when they were absent,” said Majors. “Whether it was asking them where they were yesterday when they entered the building or another staff member saying, ‘We missed you yesterday,’ the students knew that they were seen.”School leaders also sped up the timeline to address chronic absences so that they could reach the families sooner. This transparency was crucial in getting parents to come to school to address why their child was chronically absent. Additionally, the school invested in a culture of celebration for attending school.At the end of every month, the school held celebrations to recognize students that attended school 95 percent of that month. The school held larger celebrations at the end of every quarter and used treats and LEAD Academy swag – which could include things like clothes and other goodies – to incentivize students.“‘We want you to be here, we miss you when we’re gone,’ was a really big mindset shift for people, and we celebrated that continuously,” said McEwen. “We celebrated growth in attendance, but also made sure that kids who were consistently meeting our expectations were also celebrated.”