Education leaders, lawmakers look to solve the problem of chronic absenteeism
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. - Nine-year-old Juan Garcia is in a different place than he was a few months ago at Wiregrass Elementary School.
"I think I'm going to pass third grade. I was not doing good in the things that I've got to do", said Garcia.
When Garcia was missing school too often, Damaris Diaz, a social worker with Pasco County Schools, stepped in to help.
"The teacher became very concerned that Juan had an excessive amount of absences. He was, according to our early warning system, off track and the teacher wanted me to intervene. Through problem-solving with the mom, with the teacher, we were able to gain an understanding of how important attendance is, and they made the changes, and today he is just on track now, and he's going to be career ready. Today marks his third month that he has not missed a day since the day I met with that mom," said Diaz.
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Education leaders are increasing ways to incentivize good attendance.
"Absenteeism is a huge problem in many districts and Pasco is not immune to that, so we've been really trying to focus on ways to improve attendance because research shows when a student misses just ten percent, which is the equivalent of two school days a month, they are less likely to read by the third grade. So it's a huge problem", said Diaz.
State Representative Dana Trabulsy is one of the lawmakers looking into what's behind chronic absenteeism and possible solutions.
"In Florida, we are number seven in the nation for chronic absenteeism. We're actually doing a study this summer.
It could be a lot of different things and it could be everything. It could be a transportation issue, it could be an issue where parents don't find that it's important to send their kids to school regularly because they can do make-up work. It can be because of a hunger issue.
It can be every single reason depending on the community and the individual family", said Trabulsy.
Vicki Sokolik sees first hand how absenteeism affects the homeless youth that she works with in her non-profit Starting Right Now. She addresses it in her book, 'If You See Them: Young, Unhoused and Alone in America'.
"If you are chronically absent from school, it's just extremely difficult to catch up and then your grades plummet and then your opportunities become so slim.
For one, having access to food, transportation and being able to wash your clothes. Sometimes our kids will go to school just to get their free breakfast that they use as their only food source but not stay because they're embarrassed", said Sokolik.
She said redirecting their future in education could be as simple as asking one question.
"Do you need help? Because I think a lot of times, if there could be someone who intervenes quickly, the student may be able to stay in school", said Sokolik.
And encouragement can also go a long way.
"Always work hard, never give up and always show up", said Garcia.
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