The Attendance Turnaround:
How K-12 Leaders are Combatting Chronic Absenteeism
Why absenteeism is rising—and why leaders can’t afford to guess
Absenteeism has climbed sharply nationwide, and its impact is significant: lower academic achievement, weakened school climate, declining graduation rates, and real financial losses in districts where attendance drives funding. Some systems are losing millions each year.
But the reasons behind absenteeism vary widely from district to district, which means solutions must be locally informed. This report highlights the top contributors, including:
- Student disengagement and low motivation (reported by 81% of leaders)
- Insufficient parental involvement or support
- Economic pressures such as housing instability and poverty
These root causes don’t show up in dashboards or SIS data. They only surface when leaders ask the right questions, to the right groups, in the right ways.
Download the report
You'll walk away with:
A clear understanding of the real causes behind low attendance in U.S. schools
A framework for engaging your community to reveal local, nuanced barriers
Concrete strategies you can adapt and apply immediately
Benchmark data from peers tackling the same challenge
Guidance on how leaders gather and analyze both qualitative and quantitative insights at scale
Download the report.
Understand your root causes.
Start your attendance turnaround.
