LAWSON, Mo. — Across school districts in the heartland, there's an ongoing struggle to get students to attend classes, and both Kansas and Missouri are no exception.
Chronic absenteeism is when a student is found missing more than 10% of school days during an academic year.
Kansas reports 21% of students were chronically absent in 2023. In Missouri, nearly 25% of all Missouri students were chronically absent during the same year.
Chronic absenteeism in Missouri saw a sharp increase following 2020. School districts in Missouri, including staff members at Lawson R-XIV, believe the pandemic led to this ongoing issue.
Lawson is among the countless districts dealing with chronic absenteeism. According to state data, more than 90% of all Lawson students were in school 90% of the time prior to 2020. Following 2020, that rate began to gradually drop to 85%, still higher than the state average.
KSHB 41 News talked with the administrative staff, teachers, counselors and parents in Lawson to determine the solutions the district is using to combat chronic absenteeism across all grade levels.
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Parents
"Kindergartners on a virtual video call was hilarious, and attention span I think was hard, especially at home," said Bailey Calton, Southwest Elementary School parent.
Southwest Elementary School is located in Lawson and it's where two of Calton's children currently attend school. Calton and Hannah Akey, another Southwest parent, tell KSHB 41 absences in their households are rare given the pent-up desire as a family to be back in school.
"It was really exciting getting back to school because they were excited to see their friends and I don't think they liked being trapped at home either," Akey said. "I really try to involve myself as much as I can with the school and our teachers communicate really well."
If a child has an unexcused absence within the district, a staff member will call a student’s home to get a hold of parents. If contact isn’t successful, an administrator will follow-up. If a student continues to be absent, a notice will be sent home and a welfare check could be requested.
Counselors
Southwest Elementary says parent involvement is key in keeping student absences low, but there are still some students who are chronically missing from school.
"Our teachers are here every day, teaching the lessons, teaching the skills that they need, and if they are not here, they are not getting it, so then they fall behind and it just, it snowballs," said Marissa Schmidt, Southwest Elementary School counselor.
Schmidt said while chronic absences at her school are rare, some students are experiencing high anxiety and it’s taking a toll. In response, Schmidt introduced lessons on mindfulness to Southwest, where kids learn breathing exercises, emotional awareness and calming methods to rein in some of their stress.
"I would say we've seen maybe two or three cases of that work some of that separation anxiety has led to chronic absenteeism," Schmidt said. "Kids are important to us just like they are to you, and we want them to be successful. So I feel like most of the time parents are receptive to that."
Teachers
Across town, teachers at Lawson High School have seen an increase in family vacations during the academic year. Rebecca Harrold, a world history teacher at Lawson High School, says there's a misconception among parents who pull their children away from the desk thinking they will be able to keep up with their studies.
"If they're not here, there's just no way to truly make it all up, especially the comprehension side of it, not being able to check in," Harrold said. "There's just not enough hours in the day to make individualized plans for all these kids."
Harrold tells KSHB 41 while some students are leaving for family vacations, others are deciding to forget the books and get a head start in joining the work force early.
"There is this group who would rather go work, and they are disengaged, they don't turn in work, they don’t see a point in all of it and that’s intrinsic motivation lost in several kids," Harrold said.
Administration
Administrative staff in Lawson says reducing chronic absences has been top of mind. According to a statement released to KSHB 41 by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri schools are also paid, in part, based on student attendance claimed by a school district. This is in contrast to many other states that have a funding mechanism based on enrollment rather than attendance.
"It's a double-edged sword, right, we want kids here because we know it's the right thing, but we also want kids here from the standpoint of the finances of the school district," Lawson Superintendent Dr. Michael Stephenson said.
According to Stephenson, chronic absences are mostly seen in their high school and middle school, where parent involvement tends to taper off.
"Sadly, it gets to where as our kids move into middle school, parents start to have a false sense their kids are raised and that they don't need them," Stephenson said. "I would tell you that they need their parents to be as much engaged or more engaged when they get into middle school, in high school, than they ever did in elementary school."
To combat chronic absenteeism, incentives have been introduced each semester across all Lawson schools, including cash prizes and even ice cream parties to celebrate perfect attendance.
"It can be the most wealthy, well-to-do family and their kids just don't want to be engaged, they don't want to be here and it can be your your lowest income families as well that are in that situation," Stephenson said.
This is just one school district's fight to make sure those students are present. To learn about chronic absenteeism in your district, click this link.
