In an environment where adults seemingly do everything in their power to control and place students in a box, it is no wonder that so many nationwide want to be anywhere but inside the walls of a school. Within these buildings, there are increasingly more and more safety, security, and surveillance measures, as well as punitive zero-tolerance policies that confine and condemn adolescents. Yet, we are still alarmed by the truancy rates across the country. Chronic absenteeism is a problem that only worsens as students transition from preschool to elementary school to middle school and eventually to high school, where the issue reaches an all-time high. Are schools increasingly becoming more like prisons? The statistics seem to point to yes. Aside from compulsory attendance laws, schools have many rules, policies, and enforcements – albeit for safety – requiring students to dress and act a certain way. Is the strictness that often occurs on school grounds creating a prison-like environment that only reinforces truancy and other rebellious acts?
Education is a significant part of everyone’s life. It shapes who we are and gives us—or at least should—the tools necessary to become successful contributors to society. Free and adequate education is a right that all adolescents should take full advantage of. So why do students across the country dread going to school, refuse to attend, and struggle to graduate? Some could blame teenage hormones or other contributing factors outside of school that often put learning at the bottom of the list. And while these do play major roles, they just come with the territory of life and are uncontrollable. However, one thing that can be controlled is the school environment. The U.S. Department of Education says that being categorized as chronically absent means missing 15 or more days in a school year, drastically putting students behind academically, developmentally, and socially. Additionally, 1 in every 6 students is chronically absent from school at the primary level and increases to 1 in every 5 students at the secondary level (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). In the 2021-2022 school year, an average public school student misses at least 30% of the school days (The White House, 2023). This problem has well over tripled in the past ten years. At a societal level, this severely impacts the economy as fewer individuals graduate, leading to higher unemployment rates, which often leads to higher crime rates and more health problems. At the individual level, children are falling behind in all areas, more so now than ever.
Chronic absenteeism has only gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic, and nationwide academic regression and declines adversely affect our country’s students. To put into perspective just how many total school days this equates to, this “translates to more than 100 million school days lost” in a year (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). As large a problem as this is, it begs the question of what is being done to fix this overwhelming issue. Is it already too late? Too many students have fallen significantly behind, which would take years to get back on track — even with extreme support and instruction — to pre-COVID. All the research supports this view, as schools have since been playing catch-up to continue keeping students engaged. “The Biden-Harris Administration has undertaken significant efforts to combat chronic absenteeism and make sure that students are in the classroom and engaged in school” (The White House, 2023). They go on to explain some recent efforts to aid this problem, such as distributing more financial resources, support personnel, comprehensive mental health programs, and more tutoring and mentoring programs. The Biden-Harris Administration (The White House) goes on to explain some targeted interventions that are directly aimed at ensuring student attendance, such as “mailing outreach” and “text nudges” (2023) to keep families informed and involved in their children’s attendance and participation in school. Another intervention that has been implemented is an early warning system that identifies and supports at-risk students who show signs of academic struggles, missing developmental, social, and academic milestones, and chronic absenteeism. The Biden-Harris Administration additionally notes that high-dosage tutoring, afterschool programs, and support networks in and out of school can also help improve engagement.
With all these strategies in mind, it is hard to say this is enough to fix such a significant issue. Tutoring, afterschool programs, mentoring, familial engagement, and early warning systems have already been implemented for years. However, this problem still seems to be getting worse. Instead, we must completely change the school structure and how we view the school system and its students. Jennie Young, a professor, gave a TED Talk on the school environment and policies that criminalize students rather than nurture them. She says, “Language is more powerful than discipline” (2018, 3:21). How we speak to students says everything about how they will talk to us. We cannot demand respect without giving it. “If we can change the rhetoric, we can change everything” (5:09). Young says as she dives into the world of language and metaphors and how that shapes schools, policies, and students. She also discusses how her students — regardless of their academic achievement or ability to follow school guidelines — say, “This place is a prison” (5:33). With the increase in police presence on school grounds, more punitive zero-tolerance policies, and more intense security and surveillance, it is no wonder students feel like they are in a prison. Young explains a school design policy that also happens to be the “same set of design standards we use for prisons” (2018, 9:34). She says, “We actually design schools for active shooters” through the policy known as “CPTED which stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” (9:23-9:33). These architectural policies that are implemented initially to keep students safe in case of an emergent situation, most of the time do more damage than good. Not only are design policies an example of how we criminalize adolescents daily, but the language we use also plays a huge role. The same terminology used in student handbooks is used in the criminal and legal system. High-security and surveillance schools create toxic environments that feel more like prisons than productive learning environments. Are we keeping people out? Or are we keeping students in? The answer is both, but at what cost? If we treat children like criminals, they are more likely to become one. Young says, “The deadliest acts of school violence in history have occurred in the most secure school buildings in history” (2018, 11:48). It is hard to say if this is because the school was already dangerous or if the security measures created that danger. Regardless, changing the school environment from a prison-like one to a garden-like one will mean changing the entire system structure. “Locking the garden down in an effort to protect it from every conceivable thing that could ever harm it will actually kill it” (Young, 2018, 14:13). Over-criminalizing students and using language that only reinforces this criminalization does no good for the individual and has more short-term and long-term adverse effects. Telling someone not to do something increases the chances of them doing that thing, as opposed to guiding, teaching, supporting, and equipping them with the tools to make their own well-informed decisions to do the right thing.
Chronic absenteeism has a direct correlation to the criminalization of students in the school system. How we treat, teach, talk to, engage, involve, and discipline them will make a significant difference in their school attendance, which will then domino effect everything else, such as academic performance, developmental milestones, mental and physical health, graduation rates, and employment. The direction these things will take, positively or negatively, depends on how we handle every student at the individual and larger systemic levels.
While completely changing the school system environment will likely create the best outcome for student engagement, attendance, and participation, that is a large undertaking with too many logistical problems that hinder it from occurring all at once. Instead, we need to start small with the hope that we will eventually foster a more nurturing and productive school environment. For example, in the event of a chronically absent student who does not conform to or care about school rules, policies, and guidelines, or exhibits at-risk behavior instead of enforcing zero-tolerance policies, multiple steps should be followed to ensure the student is taken care of and supported throughout the treatment process. After the initial student evaluation, a set of steps should be taken to ensure a treatment process that is both effective and efficient, not only short-term but long-term as well.
Chronic Absenteeism Response
Step 1 is to eliminate zero-tolerance policies that lead to expulsion or suspension. And intervention needs to be done before a crisis or problem arises. The bottom line is that all children need to be learning, and taking that away because of their behavior only reinforces it. Also, changing the language from law enforcement jargon to a more nurturing, guiding, and caring lingo will better set the tone for a productive environment. As mentioned previously, the goal is to create a garden, not a prison. While acknowledged as an important guideline, dress codes, appearance mandates, and strict rules regarding behavior should be enforced reasonably. Allowing students to be themselves and express who they are builds creativity and makes them want to be in a school building. When every little thing a student does is being policed, it is no wonder there is resentment toward being in school.
Step 2 should be used as an identification and evaluation period to better understand each student’s unique situation and the factors influencing their school engagement. Whether it be family struggles, mental health issues, academic learning styles, a disability, or a student’s social life, it should be in the school system’s best interest to understand these factors and consider them before progressing through the treatment process. More support staff directed at engaging specifically with the students, to better detect and understand these things, such as peer support services or other alike counselors and mental health professionals, would be beneficial to enhance engagement within the walls of the building.
Step 3 should target chronically absent students and build support within to bring these students together and keep them a part of the school community. Support groups, tutoring groups, mentors, after-school programs, peer supporters, lunchtime activities or support options, and counseling can be vital tools that should continue to be implemented in school systems nationwide. The importance of these seemingly minor factors can make a significant impact. The treatment and counseling process should also include more outdoor time to take things already being implemented to the next level. Taking the garden-like school environment a little too literally. At-risk students should be mentored, supported, and counseled outside of the school’s walls to break up the time spent indoors sitting at a desk. Youth are especially susceptible to something called Nature Deficit Disorder, meaning kids who spend an excessive amount of time inside are at risk for cognitive decline, developmental delays, mood swings, mental health issues, and physical health problems. Spending time outside “builds confidence, promotes creativity and imagination, teaches responsibility, provides different stimulation, reduces stress and fatigue, and fosters thinking” (Cohen, 2023). Teachers should even take this into consideration in their lesson plans and show students the outside world instead of just talking about it. As for the counseling process, activities such as walks, picnics, and field trips should be done to get students outside of a building’s four walls. Holding group therapy sessions and mentoring outside on picnics or walks could be a very effective strategy to take the child’s mind off school and build a better connection with them. The need to engage with students is crucial now more than ever. While counseling, support, and mentoring are great tools, they still are interacting in an environment where children feel confined or trapped. Engage students in multiple different aspects instead of just doing the traditional procedures that have been used for decades. Switching attention and focus to something other than a classroom could be very productive. Think outside the box and get creative in hopes of modeling that behavior and changing the rhetoric on education and support services.
Step 4 should be to involve the student’s family and friends. Students with family members who actively participate in their education do better academically and developmentally. Most of the time, children acting out seek attention from those who should be naturally giving it to them anyway. However, this is not always the case; therefore, another important aspect regarding students’ participation and engagement in school is the social aspect. One crucial tie between a chronically absent student and school is their peers and friends. Students with an adequate support system within the school building are more likely to attend and participate. It could be a helpful tool to take students who exhibit similarities or who are struggling with engagement and hold support groups or mentor them in creative settings. The goal is to enhance the students’ engagement in school, and doing that socially and through their peers is one of the best ways to facilitate that.
Step 5, and something that is more structurally related, is building extracurricular activities for everyone. While sports are great avenues for this, many kids cannot participate due to their abilities or scarce financial resources. School sports teams are often strict in acceptance and lack inclusion. Creating more extracurriculars such as other sports, more teams, and other non-athletic activities can help to include all students. Incentives to go to school, fostering school culture/community, and tailoring the curriculum to meet student’s individual needs better are all vital. Additionally, giving students more choices in classes outside of the required curriculum helps foster critical thinking skills and gets the youth involved in their learning. Teaching adolescents more material that can be related and applied to their lives outside of a potential future career can spark students’ interest and allow them more creativity and freedom.
Step 6 is the final strategy, which would just be to set up regular meetings, counseling sessions, and support time in formal and informal settings to help foster another tie between the student and the school. The more involved the student is in school, and the school is in the student, the better chance a chronically absent student has of wanting to be more engaged. Along with this step would be to assist students with getting caught up on their school work for those who are chronically absent. Everyone should want youth to succeed and we shouldn’t be inhibiting that even if they push back. Students who feel like they are failing often get discouraged, and combined with a lack of interest or caring, leads to truancy. Tutoring students, assisting them with schoolwork, providing support and encouragement, and helping them get caught up can give students another reason to want to be in school and do well. Teachers should encourage and advise students instead of grading and judging their work. A supportive learning environment is the best environment for success. Bringing out each student’s strengths should be a goal at the top of the list. Follow-up and consistent check-ins are also vital to ensure active engagement and participation.
Providing a nurturing and engaging environment is undoubtedly challenging with all the diversity in the nation’s school systems along with trials and tribulations regarding policy, safety, and academic achievement. There are considerable problems to tackle, with no clear solution. A vital step to ensuring academic success starts at the root: reducing chronic absenteeism. The most important thing is that students feel supported, encouraged, and are allowed to be themselves without fear of punishment. Students must also have strong relationships with teachers, other school faculty, role models, peers, and families to strengthen their ties to the school. Not only do all students have the right to a free and appropriate public education, but they should also have a right to a supportive, least restrictive, caring, and engaging school environment. The system needs to change substantially, starting with fostering the best possible learning environment for every student, and we as a society really need to reflect on what that is.
References
Cohen, D. (2023, October 30). Why kids need to spend time in nature. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/
Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. (n.d.). Handout: Strategies to address chronic absenteeism. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southwest/pdf/training-coaching/SWCCR5115-HO2a-508.pdf
The United States Government. (2023, September 15). Chronic absenteeism and disrupted learning require an all-hands-on-deck approach. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/09/13/chronic-absenteeism-and-disrupted-learning-require-an-all-hands-on-deck-approach/
U.S. Department of Education. (2019, January). Chronic absenteeism in the nation’s schools. Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools. https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html
Young, J. (2018, November 13). Stupid School Security and Discipline Policies | Jennie Young | TEDxUWGreenBay. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zznY0CnimC0