1 in 4 Colorado students are "chronically absent" from school, Denver Public Schools responds
More than 240,000 students in Colorado were chronically absent from school last year, and that number is an improvement over previous years.
This week, the State Department of Education released Student Attendance and Truancy data. The data shows that student attendance improved slightly by 0.7% to 91.5%. Rates of chronic absenteeism were down by 3.4% to 27.7%.
Even with these gains, more than one in four children in Colorado is chronically absent, meaning they miss 10% or more of the school year.
Denver Public Schools, the state's largest school district, is looking to address absenteeism.
This school year, DPS wants to address chronic absenteeism rather than overall attendance rates, aiming to achieve this by working with schools, families, and other community partners.
Derek Pike, assistant principal at Denver West High School, said he and other principals see firsthand why kids are missing school, with challenges that have only worsened since the pandemic.
"Transportation is always a challenge for families, as are basic needs, food insecurity, and familial responsibilities," Pike said.
As part of the district's new initiative, they are trying to incentivize students to attend school and also address the root causes of why students are skipping classes.
"We have to pause and be conscious of working and connecting with our families to identify those barriers instead of just guessing," Pike said.
Additionally, they want to support families who need it. The overall goal is to return to pre-pandemic absence rates and improve attendance.
"I'm excited. We're going in the right direction," said Dr. Cori Canty, attendance systems manager at Denver Public Schools.
Dr. Canty said that since the pandemic, "we've had a tough time rebounding and getting students back and engaged in their learning."
She added that addressing chronic absenteeism is now a nationwide call to action. The district's approach involves not only directing DPS schools but also encouraging everyone to come together to support schools.
"We miss our students. We want them here as much as possible," Dr. Canty said. "We want the students here. We want to be able to support them socially, emotionally, and academically, and set them up for as much success as possible. We can do a much better job when they're here."
Meanwhile, Denver Public Schools' attendance rate is 89.4%, nearly 2% lower than the state average.
"It's still about a third of our students district-wide who were chronically absent last school year-still too many," Dr. Canty said.
The district has teams working to find solutions. Some are focusing on gathering data, identifying resources, and building community partnerships, while another group is working directly with schools.
"We share a lot of the same desire to make sure that kids are at school and with us regardless of the challenges they're facing," Pike said. "We know that education and schools can change outcomes for students."
Dr. Canty added that the biggest challenge overall is that they can't do this by themselves. It will take everyone, including schools, parents, students, and the community, to address absenteeism.