There has been no shortage of hand-wringing among K-12 school administrators about the dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism since the return to in-person learning. Think pieces and articles abound detailing the scale of the problem and some districts’ attempts at staunching the outflow of students from their school buildings. In 2021-22 the California Department of Education [1] reported a statewide 30% chronic absenteeism rate; Los Angeles Unified School District’s rate for the same academic year was more than ten percentage points higher at 40.3%. The rate improved slightly [2] in the 2022-23 academic year to 32.8%–cold comfort knowing that one-third of LAUSD’s students are missing out on learning.
The causes of a student’s absence from school are often commingled with the struggles of surviving and thriving in a stratified city like Los Angeles: adequate transportation, access to support services like mental and physical healthcare, homelessness, poverty, caretaking responsibilities…the list goes on. These struggles, paired with a national teacher shortage crisis and a youth mental health crisis exacerbated by social media [3] have created a perfect storm for school disengagement and a dramatic decline in academic achievement. [4]
So what’s to be done?
Establishing a collaborative approach to student attendance and a culture of shared responsibility is key. [5] There is no one solution or one staff member who can solve this problem alone. Rather, a holistic approach that draws in multiple stakeholders has the best chance at making a dent in the dismal rates of chronic absenteeism and learning in Los Angeles.
One straightforward and efficient approach is to incorporate engaging programs into after school hours, like visual arts, music, dance, and more. When there are activities to look forward to, students are more likely to want to attend school (i.e., addresses issues of engagement). Plus, creative arts programs have the added benefit of improving the academic performance of the students who participate by firing up parts of a student’s brain [6] that aid in information recall, memory, and critical thinking. [7],[8]
When schools and districts collaborate with nonprofits like B.E.A.R. to implement creative enrichment programs, they signal to the school community the importance of a collaborative approach that cultivates a culture of shared responsibility for the wellbeing of all students. When those programs are taught by high quality educators [9] who are experts in their respective fields, students gain not just fundamental skills in an artistic discipline, they get to engage with a trusted and knowledgeable adult who encourages their creative growth–factors that contribute to improved attendance and academic performance!
Let’s address chronic absenteeism and learning loss through proven strategies that encourage students to not just show up to school, but show up to learn and grow.
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[1] 2021-22 Chronic Absenteeism Rate, State Report, DataQuest
[2] 2022-23 Chronic Absenteeism Rate, Los Angeles Unified School District, DataQuest
[3] Richtel, Matt. The Surgeon General’s New Mission: Adolescent Mental Health. March 21, 2023. The New York Times.
[4] Los Angeles Unified Continues Addressing Pandemic Learning Loss, The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) test results are a reminder that the pandemic had had significant impact on long-term learning. October 17, 2023. Los Angeles Unified School District.
[5] Hubbird, Robert G., "Do After-School Performing Arts Programs Impact Student Attendance?" (2019). Dissertations. 420. https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/420
[6] A. Bolwerk, “How Art Changes Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on Functional Brain Connectivity,” PLOS One, on the internet at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101035.
[7] Greene, et. al., “Arts Education Matters: We Know, We Measured It,” Education Week, on the internet at www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/12/03/13greene.h34.html.
[8] T. Henry, Study: “Arts Education Has Academic Effect,” USA Today, on the internet at http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2002-05-20-arts.htm.
[9] B.E.A.R. teachers are working artists who hold masters degrees in their artistic disciplines.