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Engaging Middle and High School Students
The continued elevated levels of chronic absence among older students is a call to action to dig more deeply into understanding why they are missing school and what works to motivate their attendance. Knowing this for your own community will help you develop solutions.
The results of a RAND survey suggest that improving attendance for secondary students will require addressing a growing perception that missing three or more weeks of school is acceptable and that it’s okay to miss school because students take extended vacations or simply want a day to rest. Educators may need to send messages that appropriately frame the real consequences of missing so much school, the researchers write.
At the same time, a Gallup survey finds that many secondary students do not find that school makes them feel excited about learning.
What's working!
Ileana Rios and Maria Martin of Falls Church High School, in VA shared strategies that resulted in a 11.3% chronic absence rate, down from 29.9% in 2022-23. These include shifting to a positive, problem-solving approach, building relationships to promote showing up, emphasizing two-way communications about absences and talking with families before students take vacations outside of school holidays. Their short talk during AAC webinar #3 begins at minute 31:50.
Below you will find more resources and research focused on secondary students.
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