Horne: New high school absenteeism report shows catastrophic problem

Cites meaningful Dysart district efforts to combat issue

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says a new report issued by the Helios Foundation shows tough measures need to be taken to address catastrophic levels of chronic high school student absenteeism in Arizona. Chronic absenteeism is defined as nine absences in a semester or 18 absences in a year.

Horne notes the Dysart Unified district in the Phoenix area has been very effective in lowering the absence rate by taking tough measures that hold students and parents accountable.

Horne said, “The Helios Foundation found that grades 1-8 in Arizona have a chronic absentee rate of 28.1 percent, and grades 9-12 have rate of 37 percent.  This is catastrophic. We cannot teach students who are not in school. The high school student who misses more than one third of his classes is facing a bleak future.”

He added, “The best solution that we have found is the Dysart School District. Their chronic absenteeism for grades 1- 8 is 9 percent compared to 28.1 percent statewide. For grades 9-12, Dysart’s rate is 8.69 percent compared to Arizona‘s rate of 37percent. They got there because in grades 1-8 a student who is absent for 18 days in one year must repeat the grade. A high school student who misses nine days in a semester cannot get credit for the courses the student has been taking. The Dysart method is successful and makes sense. It is what schools mostly did in the past before our culture got so much more permissive. Academic loss is the price we have paid for that permissiveness. The result for some students has been catastrophic.”

He concluded, “The principal factor for students going to school daily is the parents. During Covid, some parents got used to students missing school as not that big a deal, as it was before Covid. As a former member of a school board for 24 years, I can testify that it is very important to parents that their children graduate on time. Once parents know that chronic absenteeism can interfere with timely graduation, they become highly motivated to be sure their children get to school daily. The data show the Dysart method is the most effective way to reduce chronic absenteeism.”