Chronic Student Absenteeism to be tackled by Georgia DOE
By Carol A. Gasser Moore
GEORGIA – The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has announced initiatives to combat chronic student absenteeism. GaDOE intends to make an effort to ensure all Georgia students receive full access to the instruction and opportunities they need to prepare for their futures. The initiatives were announced Tuesday, January 7 by GaDOE.
GaDOE has held a multi-agency summit, launched attendance dashboard and PSA (Public Service Announcement).
GaDOE indicates that the number of students missing 10% or more of their school days for any reason, divided by the number of students enrolled makes up the category of “chronic absenteeism”. According to GaDOE, Georgia’s current chronic absenteeism rate is 20.7%. The 20.7% absenteeism rate means that Georgia has the 17th– highest attendance rate rate in the United States of America. The GaDOE intends to improve Georgia’s school attendance rate ensuring that all students are fully accessing the instructional opportunities available to them.
Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods has described student attendance in this way: “Particularly as we continue to focus on academic recovery after the instructional disruptions of the pandemic, it’s essential that students are attending school daily and accessing the full curriculum.”
“We are committed to combating chronic absenteeism and ensuring schools are equipped to reduce barriers to attendance and address issues that cause students and families to disengage from school. This is a key area of focus for our Office of Whole Child Supports heading into the new year,” said Woods.
GaDOE’s Office of Whole Child Supports hosted an Attendance Summit for Georgia agencies and policymakers on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. The summit was attended by representatives of multiple state agencies, education organizations, and school districts. The summit’s purpose was to increase awareness and foster collaborative relationships in an effort to promote next steps to reduce chronic absenteeism.
According to information provided by GaDOE, Attendance Works, a nationally recognized organization, focused on promoting positive attendance practices. The organization led the discussions, giving attendees opportunities to dig into the data and consider potential solutions.
A follow up to the summit is planned with future work sessions and engagement with school partners to facilitate long-term changes by the Office of Whole Child Supports.
“While Georgia’s chronic absenteeism rate has started to decrease, our state still has work to do,” said Justin Hill, GaDOE’s Deputy Superintendent for Whole Child Supports. “The Summit was a step toward building a foundation for improvement in the area of attendance, and with the focus and efforts of policymakers, educators, parents, and community members, we can make a significant change.”
