Attendance as a Vital Sign

Attendance as a Vital Sign

More than 6 million kids in the United States miss 15 or more days of school a year, leading to significant educational gaps and poor long-term health outcomes.

Regular and consistent attendance in school is critical to a child’s learning and development and may ultimately determine that child’s overall success, both in school and in life. Student well-being depends upon their ability to show up when school is in session, and it becomes a problem when absence is chronic. Chronic absence is defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason.

Chronic absence & its impact

  • Children with persistent asthma are more than 3 times more likely than their peers to have 10 or more absences.
  • Research shows that, as early as pre-Kindergarten, chronic absence is a predictor that a student will continue to have poor attendance and poor academic performance in later grades.
  • By the 6th grade, chronic absence is a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
Teacher looking at classroom of students with hands raised

Students may miss school for a variety of understandable reasons, from health issues to transportation challenges to troubles at home or in their family. It’s important that teachers and staff, school leaders, parents and families, and health care providers promote the value of good attendance and do their part to address absences before students miss so much school that they fall behind.

Resources

All in for Attendance

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All in for Attendance

Resources from our partnership with Johns Hopkins University Center for School Health and Attendance Works provides collective action for public health strategies that address chronic absence.
Thriving Schools Priority: Preventing Student Chronic Absence

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Thriving Schools Priority: Preventing Student Chronic Absence

A quick look at Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to preventing chronic student absence and why it’s important.
Health Guidance for Going to School

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Health Guidance for Going to School

A new guide from Kaiser Permanente, Attendance Works, and the National Association of School Nurses on when to stay home from school and when to return to school.
Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools

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Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools

Learn what the U.S. Department of Education is doing to address chronic absenteeism.
Attendance Works

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Attendance Works

Join in efforts to promote policies and practices that support better school attendance with helpful resources from this leading national organization.

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