Focus On Kids: Union Public Schools Battles Absenteeism With New Campaign

Union Public Schools is working to increase student attendance this year by launching a new campaign called "Be Present to Win."

The district said absenteeism has gone up since the pandemic in 2020. They said nearly 30 percent of students were considered chronically absent during the last school year.

“Certainly, the pandemic didn’t do us any favors, when measures designed to keep students and teachers safe essentially told students school is optional,” said Superintendent Dr. John Federline of Union Public Schools. “While our district did its best to minimize disruption, this pattern is one that has been hard to break. By bringing more focus to bear on absenteeism, and enlisting the help of parents and teachers, we want our students to understand that their future success in career and life depends on them being present at school; thus, ‘Be Present to Win,’ which is the name of our campaign.”

A student is chronically absent when they miss 10 percent of classes or about twice a month.

Union says students in middle and high school miss class at a rate nearly twice as high as elementary school kids.

“Being chronically absent and missing two days a month may not seem like a lot, but it adds up,” said Todd Nelson, executive director of research, data and assessment at Union. “When students are gone from school, they miss essential information and are not participating in the learning process. They are missing out on experiences that build upon themselves, so when the student returns to school, they really are behind. Students may think, ‘I’ll read something and catch up when I get back to school,’ but it’s not that simple. The research shows that students don’t catch up as quickly as we would hope. Simply reading a passage in a text doesn’t make up for the missed learning experience of being there with their peers, engaged in the learning process."

The district's goal is to reduce the number by seven percent this year.