Common sense and education experts agree that the best place for the overwhelming majority of young people to learn is in the classroom. Yet, a rash of chronic absenteeism in schools in Suffolk County and across New York State is getting in the way.
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report addressing the post-COVID-19 surge in chronic absenteeism across the state. The report shows a troubling trend. During the 2022 to 2023 school year, about 33% of students missed at least 10% of school days.
DiNapoli said, “The classroom disruptions caused by the pandemic have had a lingering negative impact on New York’s students. As schools transitioned back to in-person instruction, chronic absenteeism rates increased sharply and have remained high, especially among vulnerable student populations and in the State’s high needs schools.
South Shore Press (SSP) examined the absentee numbers in some of the districts in our reading area. The numbers include very low and very high absentee numbers that are closely correlated with the socio-economic status of the children and families in the districts.
Chronic absentee rates (in percent) for high school and middle school are Wm. Floyd (66.1/36.3), Longwood (37.5/23.7), Smithtown (27.6/15.5), Patchogue-Medford (22.8/20.1), Sachem (22.8/21.2), Rocky Point (21/20.6), Mt. Sinai (18.7/15.3), Miller Place (14.1/14.1), Shoreham (11.7/10.2), and Three Village (5.9, 8.8).
Bob Vecchio, Executive Director for the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association weighed in on the issue saying, “You can track absenteeism data back to when students were in kindergarten and first and second grade. If there were high levels of absenteeism at those grade levels, it is usually a pretty good indicator that this is a student that is going to have issues with school attendance throughout their career.”
When you have a student who is already in a chronic absenteeism situation and then you add in the additional stressors associated with pandemic and post-pandemic adjustments to different learning environments, many children simply don’t make the turn. Their issues escalate.
“What we have seen nationwide, and certainly in New York State and on Long Island, post-COVID is a huge increase in chronic absenteeism and student engagement. It is harder getting kids to attend schools regularly," says Vecchio.
“I believe a lot of the issues of students who are isolated for so long do have difficulties now being in large settings and large buildings and have additional impairment with social skills on top of what may have already been going on with that student, “ Vecchio added.
Superintendent of Patchogue-Medford Schools, Donna Jones, Ed.D., says our district has "a comprehensive approach to monitoring and developing intervention strategies for chronic absenteeism. After a student is identified, the critical factor in each situation is the engagement of the student and the family in the process. The student's building principal, the District’s attendance officer, a social worker, a school psychologist, and—at the secondary level—the student’s guidance counselor are all involved."
"Based on individual situations, there are frequent home visits to work with home and family factors. There are morning calls and frequent letters. We look at the in-school situation to assess whether there are changes that might be considered beneficial in reducing a particular student’s absenteeism," says Jones. "Over the past year, our efforts have shown results, as absenteeism is on a downward trend District-wide."
Schools on Long Island, like districts nationwide, have to put additional mental health supports in place. Schools are trying different strategies for student engagement or meeting students where they are through the use of technology with online services. These additional services are necessary, but they also put a huge strain on school budgets.
Parent engagement is a huge part of reducing chronic absenteeism and for the success of students who come to school. Students start and end their day with their parents or guardians, and there is no getting around that family support plays a huge role in the successful learning of any student at any level.
Vecchio says Long Island schools are getting “very creative with parental engagement because it is a priority to impart to the parents the importance of having students in school. Online may be a fix in certain specific situations, but it's not the be-all and end-all.”
“We know students optimally learn at the highest levels when they're in person in the classroom. And then, of course, all the other benefits from the socialization skills of being in class with your peers and relationships with a teacher that you don't get online or by not being in school at all,” Vecchio added.
Vecchio also spoke about how "it is very difficult to compare one district to another, because you really have to look at the demographics of those communities, demographics of the districts."
Vecchio has a long personal involvement with Wm. Floyd district and says, "William Floyd has so many more students, but there's so many more challenges beyond volume. When you have a school district that has anywhere between 300 to 400 students that are classified homeless the absenteeism rate in unstable circumstances like that is going to be extraordinarily high."
Homelessness in students, and sometimes students are working to support their family, can't help but affect the students readiness and presence in the classroom.
In severe cases, parents can and will be reported to Child Protective Services for educational neglect. It is an extreme step that schools don't want to take, but it is something that schools can and do in extreme circumstances. Ultimately, it is a parental responsibility to make sure that your child is getting to school and getting to school on time. Parents, grandparents, and the whole family must be involved in education to set the students up for success as they move out of school and into an independent life.
SSP reached out to districts multiple times for data on absenteeism and a comment on the results. Only Patchogue-Medford district responded.