Tackling Chronic Absenteeism: “It’s All About Relationships”

GANSEVOORT — David Torres has been combating absenteeism in Saratoga County schools for more than 30 years. In that time, he’s developed a one-word mantra that could be helpful to any educator hoping to keep kids in the classroom: relationships.

“I’ll say it over and over again: relationships, relationships, relationships. Building relationships, positive relationships, with students and their families,” Torres told Saratoga TODAY. “Gaining that trust with students and their families that you can trust someone from the school to help you out.”

Torres was an attendance supervisor in the Saratoga Springs City School District for 28 years. He now serves as the community outreach liaison for the Corinth Central School District. On Monday, he hosted a School Attendance Symposium at the WSWHE BOCES Student Support Center that focused on improving chronic absenteeism in Capital Region schools.

Torres said that in his many interactions with students from across the region, he’s encountered a number of issues that contribute to chronic absenteeism: bullying, boredom, mental health struggles, and medical problems, to name a few. But ultimately, each student, he said, has their own reason for avoiding school. 

“Every family is different and we have these generic school attendance policies and they’re all well and good, but when it really comes down to it, each individual is absent for their reason. It belongs to them,” Torres said. “You’ve got to break it down and really gain trust with parents and kids.”

The New York State Education Department defines chronic absenteeism as a student missing at least 10% of school days within one academic year for any reason, including excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspensions.

Earlier this month, a report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli stated that chronic absenteeism rates increased significantly as schools transitioned back to in-person learning after the COVID-19 pandemic and remained high during the 2022-2023 school year.

“Chronic absenteeism has been linked to lower grades, lower standardized test scores, and increased risk of dropout,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Students who chronically miss classroom time often fall behind. Reducing chronic absenteeism will be essential for turning around pandemic-era learning loss. School districts need to engage students, families, and their communities to address this troubling issue.”

Engaging students and families may be easier said than done, however, especially if school personnel lack the necessary experience for building the kind of relationships that can make a difference in students’ lives.

“It would be nice if the New York State Education Department mandated community outreach people so districts can get funds for that, but they don’t,” Torres said. “[Community outreach is] more difficult  when you have to teach social studies, math, English, science, P.E., and other required subjects.”

Although the challenge of combating chronic absenteeism may seem daunting, Torres said significant improvements are being made in Corinth, which reached its goal of a 90% graduation rate in only two years. 

In Saratoga Springs, data released earlier this year showed that chronic absenteeism rates among 1st through 8th graders declined from 17.8% in 2021-2022 to 15.5% in 2022-2023. Similarly, rates among 9th through 12th graders declined from 28.1% in 2021-2022 to 25.5% the following school year. 

The district attributed the declining rates, in part, to the use of ParentSquare, a service that sends automated absentee notifications and allows parents to communicate directly with attendance clerks. In July of this year, the Schuylerville Central School District also began using ParentSquare.

“It’s not impossible to change behavior and change how people look at school education,” Torres said. “[One parent’s] kid went from 44 absences in first grade to having perfect attendance in second grade. It’s incredible. It’s very rewarding to hear from parents and from former students that when they were 16 or 15 or 14, I made an impact. Even though I might not have seen it then, I see it now when they are parents of their own kids.”