Brian Jacob speaks with the Chillicothe Gazette about how to address chronic absenteeism

The number of “address checks” Akron Public Schools makes to the homes of students who are absent from school has more than doubled during the pandemic, reports the Chillicothe Gazette. Across the state of Ohio, public schools are grappling with significant increases in their chronically absent students. According to data from the Ohio Department of Education, one in four K-12 students missed 10% of the 2020-2021 school year. One in 10 missed more than 20%.

Although chronic absenteeism has worsened during the pandemic, School of Education professor Brian Jacob explains that the problem had come to the attention of education officials with passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, in 2015. Jacob says in order to improve attendance, schools have to figure out why their students aren’t coming to class. He and other researchers categorize the causes of absenteeism into four basic groups: student specific (bullying, teen pregnancy, low academic performance), family specific (unstable housing, language barriers, need to work), school specific (poor student-teacher interactions, lack of transportation), and community specific (unsafe neighborhoods, jobs that don't require education). Once the cause is identified, it is up to the school to find a solution that addresses the student’s specific situation—which may not be quick or easy.

"I think it's certainly more time intensive and expensive than an automated text reminder," Jacob said.