7. We Kept Kids out of Schools

Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

5280: What does it mean to be chronically absent?
Cori Canty: Students who miss 10 percent or more of the time they’re enrolled in school are considered chronically absent.

And this has become a problem for DPS?
It’s a problem across the country, but yes. Out of 87,225 students in DPS in 2023, 35,835 were chronically absent. That’s about 41 percent.

Did parents just decide that school wasn’t all that important during the pandemic?
I don’t think so. I haven’t heard people say that. We did do some research—essentially a root-cause analysis—and there wasn’t just one reason. But we identified a few that were most common.

And?
Transportation issues are a problem. Some students have competing family situations where, for instance, a parent needs an older sibling to stay home with a sick younger one when they can’t go to daycare. But those things happened before the pandemic. The top reasons post-pandemic are, first, that parents are confused by the messaging surrounding sick days. They don’t know when to keep them home and when to send them to school now because the message during the pandemic was, Keep them home if they’re sick at all. Today it’s OK to send them in with a little cough or a runny nose, but we hadn’t communicated that very well.

What else?
Parents are underestimating how many days their kids have missed. They also seem to have gotten the idea that missing 25 to 30 days of school a year is OK. In 2022-’23, a big impact was families deciding to take the trips they couldn’t take during the pandemic and simply not considering the school calendar. That might be petering out, but we’ll see. Lastly, mental health days have become a thing post-COVID. We understand a kid needs a day now and then, but it’s been out of control. Kids need to be in school not only for academic success, but also for their social and emotional development.

How is DPS combating the problem?
We launched a new approach in July 2024. One of the components is all about clear communication—overcommunication—and reminders. We’re sending emails to parents that say, “Your child has missed ____ days. We want them at school!” We’re sending reminders about schedules and how to use the parent portal. We’re trying to engage families. We’re not threatening. It’s all positive. We’re even sending digital recognition to families for attendance proficiency. And we’re not using the T-word, truancy. It’s the absolute last resort.

Is the approach working?
Four months into this school year, the data was looking good, but we are still working on data integrity so we can better analyze reasons for absenteeism and help families get kids back to school.