Officials sound alarm on chronic absenteeism
WILMINGTON » School officials expressed concern over what they said was a rise in chronic absenteeism among students that has seemingly worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Superintendent of Schools Glenn Brand said that Wilmington’s chronic absenteeism rate as of earlier in May was 12.4%, though he noted that it is not an issue unique to the town. Rates of chronic absenteeism rose by 5% between 2017-2021 across Massachusetts.
Chronic absenteeism is defined by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a student missing more than 10% of school days in a year, which is at least 18 days out of a 180 day school year.
“Seemingly, things have changed and become more concerning postpandemic,” Brand told the School Committee May 24. “The research is fairly deep in terms of what absence from school can lead to and how it can impact a child’s academic development and ability to make gains.”
Brand said he would like to put together a districtwide attendance team to address the issue by reviewing internal practices in dealing with it by the schools, having the Policy Sub-committee review district policies on the issue and to review the relevant language in the district handbook.
According to data gathered by the district from the ongoing 2022-2023 school year, chronic absenteeism is an issue that persists in every level of school, though it steadily increases as the grades move up. The 10th grade for this school year has the highest rate at 19.7% of students. The lowest rate for any grade this year is fourth grade at 5.9%. Wilmington High School has the highest rate of chronic absenteeism of any individual school in the district with 15.8%.
School Committee member Mary Jane Byrnes said that having this issue expressed as a percentage of the student body helps to put the issue into perspective.
“I think breaking these percentages down to actual student bodies brings a realism that these are kids,” said Byrnes. “I would like to get a better idea of how many students are impacted.”
Committee member Stephen Turner said he wants the district to try to better understand what the individual reasons might be for a student to miss more than 10% of the school year, as it could be the result of many different factors.
“Is it home instability, is it physical illness, mental health illness, and what portions of those play a part in why the kids are not there?” said Turner.
Committee member Jennifer Bryson said the pandemic may have also altered the way students, and even employees, perceive taking a day off from school and work.
“Many people during COVID realized that the world doesn’t shut down if they miss a day of school or work, which can be kind of healthy, as long as it doesn’t go too far,” said Bryson. “Life does go on if you need to take a break. We need to be thoughtful about those sorts of pieces.”
Chair David Ragsdale said it is important to understand why students are chronically absent in the first place, and that understanding shouldn’t necessarily come in a punitive manner.
“I think the focus on the reasons is really important. If we are going to take measures we hope will improve this, we have to understand why it is happening in the first place. When we collect that information I think it is very important to do it in a nonpunitive, nonjudgmental way,” said Ragsdale. “If we are just going to parents and saying, ‘Well your kid is missing a lot of school, explain yourself,’ we are not going to get very far with improving this issue. We really want to know so we can do our part.”