Downers Grove District 58 seeks cure for rise in chronic absenteeism
Schools nationwide are grappling with post-pandemic chronic student absence, and several Downers Grove area schools have not been immune to the trend.
The Illinois State Board of Education deems a chronically absent student as one who has missed at least 18 school days or 10% of the 180-day school year.
About five years ago, 4.7% of students missed 10% or more school days a year. In 2021-22, that number jumped to 10.1%, according to a Downers Grove Grade School District 58 news release.
In his Oct. 4 superintendent's report, Kevin Russell said that just weeks into the new school year, District 58 was "seeing some concerning trends."
"Already, we have seen sizable absences from school," Russell said. "While I know that some absences are unavoidable due to illnesses or family obligations, it's important to understand the impact that absences have on a student's education."
Chronic absenteeism increases achievement gaps at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Additionally, the routine of missed school days in early life can cause children to develop lifelong patterns of absence, unreliability and poor work habits.
To improve attendance in District 58, Jessica Stewart, assistant superintendent for special services, said officials are taking a positive, problem-solving approach.
"It's tough to speculate on the 'why' behind all the absences," Stewart said. "We can say it is mirroring what's happening in the rest of the country since the pandemic. It's the reason why our district and many others are prioritizing student attendance. To do that, we're starting with educating families and making them aware of the fact that trends in District 58 don't look different than anywhere else. Our best allies in this are our families."
Kelly Novotny, assistant principal at Herrick Middle School in Downers Grove, said student attendance "continues to be a priority that we emphasize on a regular basis."
"Our attendance data shows trends very similar to what we see across the country at this time and other area middle schools," Novotny said. "We try to reiterate the importance of attendance. Missing school can impact a student's success academically, socially and emotionally. We try to work with each family and student individually as circumstances can be dramatically different depending on a number of factors."
Patrick Broncato, Woodridge District 68 superintendent, said the district's absenteeism rate increased during the pandemic. It is decreasing now.
"But we are not yet at pre-COVID absenteeism rates," Broncato said.
Educators think the pandemic may have conditioned people to stay home at any hint of sickness.
"When COVID first came around, any little symptom associated with influenza or the common cold or any number of things automatically meant exclusion," Steward said. "And so one of our hypotheses is that we've trained people to keep kids at home. But the reality is, when you look at the recommendations by (national organizations), kids can safely come to school with a lot of symptoms that are mild."
For instance, the National Association of School Nurses says children can go to school if they have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose or cough; have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness; have a mild stomach ache; have a mild rash with no other symptoms; or haven't had a fever overnight and haven't taken fever-reducing medicine during that time.