At the March public meeting of the Newark Board of Education, Superintendent Roger Leon introduced a report on the district’s struggle with chronic absenteeism. .While administrator Rochanda Jackson pointed to some schools’ successful efforts to combat what experts call “a dire and urgent situation,” three Board members, Crystal Williams, Dawn Hayes, and Josephine Garcia expressed concern about the 38% chronic absenteeism rate at the district’s High School of Fashion and Design. “We put a lot of specialty programming and resources in this school,” said Williams (at the 52 minute mark). “What is going on in this school?”

(For Leon’s response, see below.)

It’s not just Newark, of course. One of the unintended consequences of long school closures is the feeling among students and parents that school has become optional. Before the pandemic, the rate of chronic absenteeism among New Jersey students—meaning missing 10% of school days—was 10.6%. According to the State Department of Education, which released 2022-2023 data at yesterday’s State Board meeting, that rate is now 16.6%, just one point better than the previous year. To put it another way, “more than one-fifth of New Jersey students missed more than 15 days of school in the 2022-2023 school year.”

“Even though it’s an improvement, I say the house is on fire here when you have that percentage of students missing 18 days or more,” said State Board of Education member Nedd Johnson. “If they’re not there, you can’t teach them. They can’t learn.”

Every NJ school district with a chronic absenteeism rate of more than 10% will have to develop a Corrective Action Plan. That puts Newark in the company of 70% of NJ districts. 

And some districts have far higher rates: 21.7% for Toms River, 40.7% for Camden, and 42.2% for Trenton, according to NJ Spotlight.

These rates are not reserved for low-income students: the New York Times reported last week that in a wealthy district in Anchorage, parents are taking kids out of school for luxury ski trips. 

Why are kids missing so much school? Researchers say the causes are multi-faceted with other ramifications, like increased discipline problems (also reported at yesterday’s State Board meeting), social disengagement, and a cultural shift connected to the Work-From-Home model. Why not School-From-Home too?

Teachers also are chronically absent: According to a May 2022 survey by the U.S. Department of Education, “teacher absences have increased compared to prior school years…more than three-quarters of public schools reported it is more difficult to get substitutes than it was before the pandemic…[and] nearly three-quarters of public schools are frequently relying on administrators, non-teaching staff, and teachers on their free periods to cover classes.”

As Ed Navigator’s Tim Daly puts it, “The biggest driver of absenteeism is a change in the culture of attendance. Post-pandemic, missing school is not such a big deal.”

This doesn’t make the chronic absenteeism rate at Newark’s School of Fashion and Design acceptable (especially when only 26% of students are proficient in reading and the state redacts the numbers for math because they’re so low). Yet the problem may not go away. COVID-19 changed us. Schools may have to change too. Lakisha Young, head of highly-lauded program Oakland Reach, suggests that schools provide a “rigorous online option.” She says, “the goal should be, how do I ensure this kid is educated?”

Yet if, as Woody Allen once said,  90% of success is showing up, our students are at risk.

Superintendent Leon’s response to Newark board members’ concerns (about the 1:00 mark):

“In New Jersey the average chronic absenteeism rate  is 18.1%. [Ed. Note: It’s 16.6%.] That’s after the whole school year.  Being below 18% is the right strategy….These numbers are month by month… We can’t talk about chronic absenteeism rates because the year hasn’t ended…Our [districtwide] average  right now is 15.4%.  If the school year was to end today [we would be lower than the state average]. It’s extremely important that people understand that…If a student is late waking up I encourage them to get to school. We don’t get penalized for attendance factors but it does impact our ability to demonstrate to everyone how well we know our students….You also have to understand what the issue is at the school. There are a number of schools that have students that I pray to God every day that I’m grateful they woke up, because their parents are praying and hoping that their children wake up. They have so many medical conditions that breathing is a big factor…These are conversations that should be had in committees.”