Chronic Absenteeism in APS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think one reason for the additional absences is that people are more aware that they should stay home (or keep their kids home) when they are stick, like until 24 hours after you vomited, had diarrhea, or started antibiotics, etc.

Yes plus there is a LOT of illness going around. There's a lot of Covid and a lot of other illnesses. Covid has been demonstrated to impact immunity so kids get sick more after getting it. It has also been demonstrated to cause a whole host of chronic health conditions that also cause more absences.

This is staring us in the fact but it's all political and there are so many Covid deniers that i'm sure i'll be flamed for even raising this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It has everything to do w/Covid. Shutting down the schools created a new mind set that didn't allowed the perception that going to school wasn't that important. Just another fallout I suppose...maybe it'll get back on track, but it'll take some time for sure...

Yeah, this trend isn’t surprising at all. For one thing, parents watching virtual school saw how much time was wasted (& school was only 4 days a week for an entire school year).

Second, schools were completely closed (not even virtual school happening) for months in spring of 2020, and parents were basically told it was no big deal re: learning… they’d make up for the lost instruction during the next school year (which, predictably, was total BS). So yes, parents & kids got the idea that attending school isn’t all that important for several reasons. Plus what PPs said: adults don’t want to go back to the office, either.

Right, but the lesson of the pandemic is the in-person school DOES matter. The test scores, the behavior and mental health issues, the widening equity gap... it's all proof. I guess I'm just flummoxed that people don't send their kids to school. The damage to the kids not being sent is heartbreaking, as is the damage being done to the remaining kids, who have to deal with the disruption and lack of forward motion in learning.

Yes, the lesson of the pandemic is that in-person school matters a lot, as evidenced by all of these outcomes. The message of COVID sent by our leadership is that school is not that big a deal and lost learning can be made up easily down the line.

Yes, this is a huge problem. When APS said coming to school didn't matter, parents believed them. I can understand a parent thinking oh well, they didn't make kids go to school for almost 2 years so I guess my kid doesn't really need to be there, they can just read the assignment on canvas. It's the same thing.

if APS wants to fix the issue, they need to come out and admit the mistake of keeping schools closed, apologize and begin a campaign to get kids back to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think one reason for the additional absences is that people are more aware that they should stay home (or keep their kids home) when they are stick, like until 24 hours after you vomited, had diarrhea, or started antibiotics, etc.

Yes plus there is a LOT of illness going around. There's a lot of Covid and a lot of other illnesses. Covid has been demonstrated to impact immunity so kids get sick more after getting it. It has also been demonstrated to cause a whole host of chronic health conditions that also cause more absences.

This is staring us in the fact but it's all political and there are so many Covid deniers that i'm sure i'll be flamed for even raising this.

And before the pandemic you would have said all those parents couldn't wait to drop their kids off at school even though there is some much illness going around and their kids has symptoms. You would have said all those parents want is free babysitting or something similar.

No one is denying Covid. But you are denying the reality that illness has nothing to do with the chronic absenteeism issue in APS.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the lesson of the pandemic is that in-person school matters a lot, as evidenced by all of these outcomes. The message of COVID sent by our leadership is that school is not that big a deal and lost learning can be made up easily down the line.



Yes, this is a huge problem. When APS said coming to school didn't matter, parents believed them. I can understand a parent thinking oh well, they didn't make kids go to school for almost 2 years so I guess my kid doesn't really need to be there, they can just read the assignment on canvas. It's the same thing.

if APS wants to fix the issue, they need to come out and admit the mistake of keeping schools closed, apologize and begin a campaign to get kids back to school.

Oh, c'mon. It's time to stop blaming everything on the schools and the pandemic. Look at the numbers--the SA schools are experiencing MUCH higher absentee numbers than NA schools. That would indicate that something else is wrong, correct? If it was just the pandemic causing this, the numbers would be low across the board.

The problem has more to do with SES. There needs to be more outreach to immigrant and low-income families so school expectations are understood--that education is critical to student futures and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. In some cases, students are not attending school because they are expected to care for younger siblings or other family members. Perhaps the bloated equity office should take this on--more home visits, etc. to provide information to families in their home languages. The schools themselves are overwhelmed, having only one social worker and a limited number of counselors to do this work.

[Anonymous]

..numbers would be high across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, the lesson of the pandemic is that in-person school matters a lot, as evidenced by all of these outcomes. The message of COVID sent by our leadership is that school is not that big a deal and lost learning can be made up easily down the line.



Yes, this is a huge problem. When APS said coming to school didn't matter, parents believed them. I can understand a parent thinking oh well, they didn't make kids go to school for almost 2 years so I guess my kid doesn't really need to be there, they can just read the assignment on canvas. It's the same thing.

if APS wants to fix the issue, they need to come out and admit the mistake of keeping schools closed, apologize and begin a campaign to get kids back to school.

Oh, c'mon. It's time to stop blaming everything on the schools and the pandemic. Look at the numbers--the SA schools are experiencing MUCH higher absentee numbers than NA schools. That would indicate that something else is wrong, correct? If it was just the pandemic causing this, the numbers would be low across the board.

The problem has more to do with SES. There needs to be more outreach to immigrant and low-income families so school expectations are understood--that education is critical to student futures and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. In some cases, students are not attending school because they are expected to care for younger siblings or other family members. Perhaps the bloated equity office should take this on--more home visits, etc. to provide information to families in their home languages. The schools themselves are overwhelmed, having only one social worker and a limited number of counselors to do this work.

Correct, illness is not the big factor here. For HS i imagine it's a lot of kids that may be working to help their family. I guess that could happen in the lower grades too.

[Anonymous]

“ and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. ”

I mean, this might be effective for high school age kids, but elementary kids literally don’t even get grades anymore. I’d try a different angle to convince parents school is important.

But the PP is right that APS should apologize, or at least acknowledge what happened during the pandemic re: schools, attitudes, etc. Maybe show families studies of how much no school screwed things you for kids. How can they espouse the importance of school attendance with a straight face after 2020-2021 otherwise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. ”

I mean, this might be effective for high school age kids, but elementary kids literally don’t even get grades anymore. I’d try a different angle to convince parents school is important.

But the PP is right that APS should apologize, or at least acknowledge what happened during the pandemic re: schools, attitudes, etc. Maybe show families studies of how much no school screwed things you for kids. How can they espouse the importance of school attendance with a straight face after 2020-2021 otherwise?

No, APS shouldn’t “apologize”. WTF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. ”

I mean, this might be effective for high school age kids, but elementary kids literally don’t even get grades anymore. I’d try a different angle to convince parents school is important.

But the PP is right that APS should apologize, or at least acknowledge what happened during the pandemic re: schools, attitudes, etc. Maybe show families studies of how much no school screwed things you for kids. How can they espouse the importance of school attendance with a straight face after 2020-2021 otherwise?

What good would that do at this point? It's not going to change learning loss, it isn't going to cover the fees we have to pay for tutors and it's not going to change the current situation. If they had to apologize for every mistake we we would flooded with apologies all the time...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. ”

I mean, this might be effective for high school age kids, but elementary kids literally don’t even get grades anymore. I’d try a different angle to convince parents school is important.

But the PP is right that APS should apologize, or at least acknowledge what happened during the pandemic re: schools, attitudes, etc. Maybe show families studies of how much no school screwed things you for kids. How can they espouse the importance of school attendance with a straight face after 2020-2021 otherwise?

What good would that do at this point? It's not going to change learning loss, it isn't going to cover the fees we have to pay for tutors and it's not going to change the current situation. If they had to apologize for every mistake we we would flooded with apologies all the time...

So, just because ES kids don't get grades, a "different angle" should be taken for everyone? What about using tailor-made approaches for each level, instead of throwing out perfectly good and age-appropriate suggestions for teens?

[Anonymous]

It’s not just us. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/21/parents-in-england-no-longer-see-daily-school-attendance-as-vital-report-finds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, the lesson of the pandemic is that in-person school matters a lot, as evidenced by all of these outcomes. The message of COVID sent by our leadership is that school is not that big a deal and lost learning can be made up easily down the line.



Yes, this is a huge problem. When APS said coming to school didn't matter, parents believed them. I can understand a parent thinking oh well, they didn't make kids go to school for almost 2 years so I guess my kid doesn't really need to be there, they can just read the assignment on canvas. It's the same thing.

if APS wants to fix the issue, they need to come out and admit the mistake of keeping schools closed, apologize and begin a campaign to get kids back to school.

Oh, c'mon. It's time to stop blaming everything on the schools and the pandemic. Look at the numbers--the SA schools are experiencing MUCH higher absentee numbers than NA schools. That would indicate that something else is wrong, correct? If it was just the pandemic causing this, the numbers would be low across the board.

The problem has more to do with SES. There needs to be more outreach to immigrant and low-income families so school expectations are understood--that education is critical to student futures and that parents understand the direct link between grades and absenteeism. In some cases, students are not attending school because they are expected to care for younger siblings or other family members. Perhaps the bloated equity office should take this on--more home visits, etc. to provide information to families in their home languages. The schools themselves are overwhelmed, having only one social worker and a limited number of counselors to do this work.

No it is the pandemic unless you can find another reason for 50%-100% jumps in absenteeism across the board between 2019 and 2023. Just because SA schools are experiencing it more doesn't mean the pandemic has nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Some of the absenteeism might be because of the stupid requirement that parents provide a doctor’s note for sick absences.

I’m not sure how much schools enforce it, but we were told at back to school night that we need a doctors note for a sick absence to be excused. The PIP on attendance suggests it too:

“Supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s note, must be provided promptly upon the student’s return to school for the absence to be considered excused.”

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CEQL3R549F72/$file/J-5.1.30%20PIP-1%20Attendance.pdf


It’s stupid to take your kid to the doctor for every minor illness. It’s also difficult, especially for parents who don’t have flexible work schedules or good health insurance or willing doctors.

I figure there could easily be a year where my kids get a lot of colds, I don’t take them to a doctor for a stupid cold, and we get the “chronically absent” label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the absenteeism might be because of the stupid requirement that parents provide a doctor’s note for sick absences.

I’m not sure how much schools enforce it, but we were told at back to school night that we need a doctors note for a sick absence to be excused. The PIP on attendance suggests it too:

“Supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s note, must be provided promptly upon the student’s return to school for the absence to be considered excused.”

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CEQL3R549F72/$file/J-5.1.30%20PIP-1%20Attendance.pdf


It’s stupid to take your kid to the doctor for every minor illness. It’s also difficult, especially for parents who don’t have flexible work schedules or good health insurance or willing doctors.

I figure there could easily be a year where my kids get a lot of colds, I don’t take them to a doctor for a stupid cold, and we get the “chronically absent” label.

I have not experienced this being enforced at APS... and do not believe that it can be. You ARE required to contact the attendance office and notify them of your child being out sick in order for the absence to be excused. But let's be honest... this isn't why the kids are being chronically absent. Low-income families are increasingly not seeing the value in sending their kids to school... which is alarming, and will have terrible implications for academic achievement and rates of post-high school education for those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think one reason for the additional absences is that people are more aware that they should stay home (or keep their kids home) when they are stick, like until 24 hours after you vomited, had diarrhea, or started antibiotics, etc.

Yes plus there is a LOT of illness going around. There's a lot of Covid and a lot of other illnesses. Covid has been demonstrated to impact immunity so kids get sick more after getting it. It has also been demonstrated to cause a whole host of chronic health conditions that also cause more absences.

This is staring us in the fact but it's all political and there are so many Covid deniers that i'm sure i'll be flamed for even raising this.

And before the pandemic you would have said all those parents couldn't wait to drop their kids off at school even though there is some much illness going around and their kids has symptoms. You would have said all those parents want is free babysitting or something similar.

No one is denying Covid. But you are denying the reality that illness has nothing to do with the chronic absenteeism issue in APS.

Goodness! In the same breath you claim that you're not a Covid denier but also claim illness has nothing to do with chronic absenteeism. Go look up the Covid levels (we're in a surge) and the long term health impacts of Covid. Or stick your head back in the sand and enjoy denialism.