Understanding Who Is Missing and Why

During the shift to online learning in 2020, the disruption to students and families was nearly universal, but the causes--and effects--varied. In this time, a shocking number of students did not attend school regularly, or at all. The work of the intervening years has been largely twofold: ensure that students reengage with learning and help them to get back on track with their academic progress. Therefore, the most important questions for state board members to ask are, Who is missing? and Why? Finding the answers is the first step to understanding the nature of unmet needs in each state, district, and school so that solutions are responsive. In search for these answers, the author illustrates four individual efforts of schools and states in analyzing attendance data, improving coordination and communication, tackling truancy, and connecting students with mentors, concluding with an explanation of how state boards can adapt the examples to their own needs.