The stories keep coming about students missing school, and a lot of it. Stay-at-home school during the COVID pandemic appears to be a factor in students and their parents not feeling a need to be in class on a regular basis. Chronic absenteeism--missing 10% of class time in an academic year--has zoomed across the country.
In Oregon, it was nearly double in 2023 what it was pre-pandemic. The Medford School District is actually doing a little better than the statewide average, but absenteeism is still a concern.
We talk to Natalie Hurd and Marisa Poling at MSD about trends and responses to chronic absenteeism.