Nebraska school battles chronic absenteeism with student connection

At Isanti Community Schools near the northern border of Nebraska, over 200 students fill the classrooms. Every day, the staff waits for them at the entrance to say “good morning” and “hello.” Then, they grab breakfast and sit together as a school community to start the day.

This simple morning routine is one way the school is trying to combat chronic absenteeism, which is when a student misses 10% or more of school for any reason.

Hedy Chang is the executive director of Attendance Works, an organization that works with schools and communities to address absenteeism. She said students who habitually miss school are less likely to read on grade level by the end of third grade, less likely to graduate high school and are more likely to experience academic and behavior challenges in middle school. But the impacts go past learning.

“When kids aren't regularly in school, and having that routine of school, it can actually affect their well-being because going to school every day helps for kids to transition to school and recover from chaotic, challenging situations like we've been in the past couple of years with the pandemic,” Chang said.

Chang said being in school helps students connect with each other and with adults.

In the first semester at Isanti during the 2022-2023 school year, about 91% of high schoolers, 66% of middle schoolers, and 35% of elementary students were chronically absent.

The state considers all three schools in the district priority schools. Isanti is required to submit progress plans identifying areas to improve and ways to address them. One of those areas is chronic absenteeism.

Shirley Vargas is a school transformation officer and administrator of the office of coordinated school and district support at the Nebraska Department of Education, and she has been visiting Isanti since 2018. Vargas said students are missing school for a number of reasons, including working jobs and taking care of family members.

“What it means to just get up, get ready, go to school isn’t always necessarily the regular day-to-day cadence that a child might experience,” Vargas said.

To combat the issue, the school is focused on connecting with each student.

Ruth LaPlante, the K-12 dean of students, said school staff will check-in at students’ houses, pick up students for school and buy alarm clocks for those who need one. They also send letters home for those with at least 3 unexcused absences or 7 total absences.

“We want to make our students be successful and be able to come back and help our community,” LaPlante said. “So I think that's why attendance is so important to us, we just want to see our kids be successful.”

The school rewards that success. At monthly ceremonies, they recognize students who have perfect attendance and those who have been in school at least 90% of the time.

On a weekly basis, the class with the highest average daily attendance receives a treat, like cookies or pickles.

It’s more than getting students into school and keeping them there. Isanti is located on the Santee Sioux Nation Reservation. By mid-September this academic year, missing school for cultural education accounted for 17% of high school absences.

Noella Eagle is the high school principal and a member of the C’anupawakpa Dakota Nation in Manitoba, Canada, which shares a language group with Isanti. She said she encourages students to participate in faith events like the Sun Dance and Memorial Rides.

“Because that's part of who we are, and that's our self identity,” Eagle said “That's something to be proud of when you are, when you're out there, and you're helping people.”

According to Eagle, students knowing their identity will help them and their culture.

“Here’s the importance, for you to understand who you are, it’s going to not only sustain you and empower you, it’s also going to keep our people, our culture in existence,” Eagle said. “We exist. We’re not in history books. We are here.”

Eagle said students can use the skills they learn from their culture in the classroom — like passing on stories can be used in English Language Arts education.

The district has been working with the local school board to sponsor cultural events.

Most students who fall into the “chronic absenteeism” category are in school everyday — they just arrive late or leave early. Emily Romkema, the technology director and operations manager at Isanti, said the school’s focus on making up for missed time is helping.

“That part of our absenteeism problem has gone down significantly since we've started really talking to students about the importance of being in school, about the importance of recovering your learning that you've missed when you've missed school,” Romkema said.

At the middle school level, teachers use extra time in the day to help students catch up on missed work. The high school does something similar after school.

Romkema said students are an important part of the conversation to address chronic absenteeism. The student council, which Romkema co-sponsors, has brought ideas like field trips to encourage their peers to come to school.

“I think just having that ownership and feeling that power to have a voice in their school has really made an impact on their thoughts on coming to school,” she said.

The student council also came up with a slogan that will be displayed in the school and around town …“Your Future: Be Here to Get There.”

“We want to have a shared understanding of the importance of getting an education and a shared understanding of why the attendance in school is the first step to raising the bar for academic excellence for our students here,” Romkema said.

At Isanti, addressing chronic absenteeism is seen as an effort that takes students, their families, the school, school board and an investment from the community.

So far, it’s working. At the end of first semester this school year, there were about 24% fewer high schoolers chronically absent, 20% fewer middle schoolers and 13% fewer elementary students.