Attendance up, skipping declines as Grand Forks schools crack down on absences
One of the most regrettable results of the COVID classroom lockdowns was a significant rise in chronic absenteeism, a.k.a. skipping school. It’s a problem nationwide that’s proven difficult to get under control, including in North Dakota.
A bill to study chronic absenteeism and potential solutions failed to get traction in the current legislative session. But the frustration of lawmakers over the seemingly intractable issue came through at a recent House Appropriations Committee hearing.
“I know, my daughter-in-law deals with this all the time as a school counselor at a middle school that feeds into that high school,” said Rep. Eric Murphy (R). “And, you know, there’s a lot of frustration. Parents block the cell the number of the school on their cell phones, so they can’t even contact the parents.”
Yet the results of a stricter attendance policy implemented in the current academic year by Grand Forks schools appear to point toward progress, if not necessarily a solution. The district reinstated tougher penalties for students who serially skipped classes. The first semester results released in January in the Grand Forks Herald provided the first significant signs of progress in getting a grip on the problem.
At Central, the number of students who reach 18 absences – at which point they’re dropped from the class they’ve missed – has declined to 12% of students, compared to 22% during the spring 2024 semester.
“Because this is a work in progress, we’re looking at this first semester as a resetting of a norm,” Strandell said.
Students at Red River have responded more proactively, with the share of students at 10 and 12 absences declining from 13% to 7% and 12% to 7%, respectively, while only 4% of Red River students have 18 or more absences compared to 16% in spring 2024.
Both principals agreed the policy had shown the most results for high-absence students, when the policy started having “teeth.”
The tougher policy works to take some of the load off teachers and to reinforce basic academic expectations that have been allowed to slip.
The two high schools elected to bring back academic penalties for chronically absent students during the fall semester in response to years of declining attendance. The rise in absenteeism was negatively affecting graduation rates, grades and putting a greater burden on teachers tasked with catching up students who missed class.
Under the plan, students and parents are placed on a “contract” after 12 absences. (Warnings are sent out twice before then, at six and 10 absences)
From then on, students don’t receive credit for any work assigned or due on a day they are absent.
Not everyone buys into the changes, but school officials clearly view it as an overdue step in the right direction.
The policy has shifted more work onto office staff and assistant principals as well as social workers and school counselors, who become involved at 10 absences.
“It has been a load, but our hope is we put in a lot of the work semester one so the system is in place and it’s not as labor-intensive as it was so far,” Strandell said.
If the absenteeism rate continues to dip in the rest of the school year, no doubt Grand Forks schools will be looked to as a template in North Dakota and likely beyond.