As of last year, 12 million students nationwide and nearly 25% of Kansas students were considered chronically absent. This is a term used to describe a student who’s missed at least 10% of a school year. The average school year is about 180 days, meaning that one-fourth of all Kansas students missed upwards of 18 school days in 2023. This number has steadily risen since the pandemic in 2020, and Olathe high schools are having to find creative ways to get kids to school.
Olathe’s chronic absenteeism rates jumped from 2% in 2018 to nearly 23% in 2023, causing much concern for the future of the district’s students. With the thousands of students who are chronically absent in Olathe every school year, educators have found that they typically get lower test scores and are approximately seven times more likely to drop out.
This lack of attendance is found to be most prevalent in high school students, typically juniors and seniors, but also in our elementary schools with kindergartners and first graders coming in not far behind.
There are many reasons for students having excessive absences, such as a lack of proper transportation, chronic illnesses, as well as issues connecting with peers and educators. The variety of causes has made the issue difficult to fix.
At Olathe North, Mr. Herman has taken multiple routes in attempting to remedy the epidemic. Most recently, he announced a second-quarter attendance challenge. This challenge announces that if a student misses less than 24 hours of school, has no more than three tardies, and no behavioral referrals, they will be invited to a party during advisory with food, games, and prizes at the end of the quarter. This approach is far different from last year’s, rewarding students for good attendance rather than punishing them for bad, but many students are doubtful that it will be effective.
“I don’t know if it’s going to work. It could encourage some kids to come, but the kids who are really struggling with attendance won’t care,” said Lailah Simmons (12).
Last year’s attempt at fixing attendance rates was stricter, with notices being handed out to students who met the criteria for chronic absenteeism. In these notices, students were informed that they could not miss school unless a doctor’s note was provided. While in theory, this seems like a good way to push students to come to school, in effect, it has caused major issues for those who suffer from chronic illnesses or struggle with mental health.
“I had to come to school every day last year whether I felt up to it or not which definitely affected my learning. Having to drag myself to school every day with constant migraines definitely made the year miserable for me and made paying attention in class hard,” said Rishita Mazumdar (12).
Seeing students dealing with the repercussions of the crackdown on absences has made it more clear that lots of parents enable their children to miss excessive amounts of school even when not necessary, punishing others.
Ever since the pandemic in 2020, a mental health crisis has overtaken students. Online learning and nationally mandated isolation have made countless students feel disconnected from their peers and have normalized staying at home. This has parents quicker than ever to let their kids skip school, calling them out constantly.
This is a concerning reality for our high school students in the district. Many of these students are going off to college and the workforce in just a few years, having the independence to miss class or work on a whim. The lack of motivation in students is causing educators to worry about their future, feeling that they’re not accurately being prepared for life outside high school.
The chronic absenteeism epidemic has wreaked havoc on not only Olathe but the nation in the years following COVID-19. School administrators across the country are desperately searching for ways to encourage students to show up to class. Our generation of students is experiencing the highest numbers of chronic absenteeism to date, and we’re starting to feel the effects. Students are falling behind, dropping out, and not getting the same quality of education as the generations before.
This issue runs deeper than simply forcing students to come to school. It puts into question the resources available to struggling students and how our schools can better support them. The school districts need to delve deeper into the reasons why students aren’t showing up to class, finding better ways to support them, and students need to communicate their struggles with administrators, hopefully creating a better solution for the school district and students alike.