Tri-City schools battle plague of chronic absenteeism

Confronted by one of the nation’s highest rates of chronic absenteeism, Tri-City schools are fighting back with prizes ranging from glitzy pencils to shiny new bicycles.

The Tri-Cities and Washington both had high rates of chronic absenteeism, according to data released this summer by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and reported Tuesday by the Seattle Times.

In the Tri-Cities, that meant more than 11,000 local students missed 15 or more days of school during the 2013-2014 school year — an absentee rate of 23 percent, ten full points ahead of the national average of 13 percent. Washington state fared even worse: 24.8 percent of students were counted as chronically absent, second only to Washington, D.C.

“We have a problem in the Tri-Cities, and it’s kids not showing up for school,” said LoAnn Ayers, president and CEO of United Way of Benton-Franklin counties.

The chapter has been fighting absenteeism since launching Attendance Matters in Tri-City schools during the 2012-2013 school year. Its rationale: Students who aren’t in school are at risk for dropping out before they earn high school diplomas..

While the federal data is several years old, it underscores the challenge Attendance Matters and its school district partners face in getting children to class.

Among its findings: Children of color and those living in poverty are more likely to miss enough school to jeopardize their chances of earning a high school diploma. It found students with disabilities are 1.3 times more likely to be chronically absent. Students who are learning English are 1.2 times less likely to be chronically absent.

The Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction measures chronic absenteeism differently than the federal government. It is considers a student chronically absent after 18 or more missed days of school, three more than the 15-day cutoff for the federal agency.

Nevertheless, it considers absenteeism a key indicator of school performance. It began gathering data as it formulates a plan to improve attendance. It will study schools with both good and poor attendance records. Absenteeism generally includes both excused and unexcused absences and is different from truancy, which reflects unexcused absences only.

“The initial thing is to shine a light on what’s happening,” said Nathan Olson, SPI spokesman.

Attendance Matters is already shining the light in the Mid-Columbia, said Dominique Dennis, principal of the Pasco School District’s McLoughlin Middle School.

“People are very aware. And United Way has been an awesome collaborator. We’re on top of attendance every single day,” she said.

McLoughlin and its sister middle schools in Kennewick, Richland and Pasco first teamed with Attendance Matters to reward good attendance during the 2012-2013 school year. It’s now grown to cover 15 middle schools in seven Mid-Columbia districts, reaching nearly 12,000 students.

Attendance Matters supplies Dennis and her fellow middle school principals with tickets to Tri-Cities Fever games, mirrors for lockers, pencils that light up, Dairy Queen coupons and even bicycles.

Dennis said the reward system is fun for students, but family outreach is more important. She said poverty is the leading reason children miss school. Administrators and teachers contact families to identify the reasons why kids are missing.

“We literally do whatever it takes,” she said.

Ayers, of United Way, said Attendance Matters has made a difference since its first year.

In the debut year, the average Tri-City middle schooler missed 12 days of school. That dropped to 10 days the following year, then bounced up to 11 in 2014-2015. The 2015-2016 numbers are being compiled now.

Between 2013 and 2014, Attendance Matters said there were 985 fewer students who were counted as chronic absentees, while the number of students with perfect records increased to 103, up from 88.

Ayers said she’s thrilled by the yearly gains, but is keeping her eye on the ultimate prize: Graduation rates.

“What data showed again and again is we need to focus on those kids who are missing more than 10 days of school. There is a direct connection to not graduating from high school,” she said.

Attendance Matters was one of nine recipients of the Common Good award presented this year by United Way World Wide.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Tri-City schools battle plague of chronic absenteeism."