More than one out of every four Colorado students is missing a lot of school. The rate of those often-absent students has bumped up slightly last school year from the previous year— about 3,500 more students from the year prior. The bump is a disappointment, after a couple of years of improvement in the state’s chronic absenteeism rate after the pandemic, according to new figures released by the Colorado Department of Education.
The rate of students who are chronically absent, which is missing more than 10 percent of school days or 18 days a year, increased less than a point to 28.4 percent last year. It is still below the post pandemic high of 34.5 percent of students who were chronically absent.
The state also measures the average daily attendance, which is the total number of days attended by a student divided by the total possible days. That declined slightly from 91.5 to 91.4 percent.
Colorado has struggled to return to pre-pandemic rates of attending school, which bounced between 18 percent to 26 percent. In the 2023-24 school year, Colorado had the fifth-highest rate in the nation of students missing lots of school.
State tried to stem absenteeism trend
The slight worsening in the last school year doesn’t bode well for one of the department’s key strategic goals: cutting chronic absenteeism to 15 percent by the 2027-28 school year. The state launched a campaign called “Every School Day Matters” that includes increased training and resources for educators and school leaders.
Schools, teachers and state officials put extra effort into strategies to boost attendance. The state brought cohorts of districts together to learn from each other and share best practices. It expanded tools and guidance to schools, and targeted state and federal grants to some districts to boost attendance. What Colorado is doing to reduce chronic absenteeism is featured on the front page of one of the main national organizations on the issue, Attendance Works. Dozens of districts opted into a ‘50%’ challenge to cut chronic absenteeism rates in half.
Last school year, the grades with the highest absenteeism were eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th, with more than 30 percent of students chronically absent. The best attended grade at 21.9 percent: third grade.
A bright spot is that kindergarten and first grade saw improvements in chronic absenteeism. Right after the pandemic, kindergarteners had the highest chronically absent rate after 11th and 12th graders.
Some students struggle with chronic absenteeism more
The student group with the highest chronic absenteeism rate were homeless students, with 57 percent missing 18 or more days a year. That is followed by students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch (40 percent), migrant students (40 percent), multilingual learners (38 percent), and special education students (36percent). All groups saw increases except for migrant students, who are students whose parents work in migratory agricultural work.
Rates of chronic absenteeism in all racial and ethnic groups went up except Asian students. The rates with the highest rates of chronic absenteeism were also the smallest groups: American Indian/Alaska Native (5,203 total students with 45 percent chronically absent) and Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (3,208 total students – 51 percent). Black (34 percent) and Hispanic (38 percent) students were above the state average. Hispanic students saw the largest increase with 4,569 additional chronically absent students, or about 1.3 percentage points.
Some districts improve, others don’t with poverty a factor
Children living in poverty are two to three times more likely to be chronically absent. Poverty can create barriers from housing instability, lack of reliable transportation or food insecurity. Families may be juggling multiple jobs or older siblings care for young children not yet in school. Absences may also be tied to health problems such as untreated asthma or diabetes, oral health challenges or mental health issues.
Half the students in the tiny Centennial R-1 district (160 students) in San Luis were chronically absent with more than 90 percent living in poverty.
The Adams 14 district in Commerce City has one of the highest chronic absenteeism rates in the state at 43.9 percent. Almost 90 percent of the nearly 5,000 students live in poverty with 55 percent of students learning English as a second language. But the chronic absenteeism rate dropped 5 points from last year.
The Agate school district in the Eastern Plains improved its chronic absenteeism rate from 24.7 to 9.2 percent. But there are only about 70 students in the whole school district. Aspen’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped 6.7 points.
In larger urban school districts, among those that saw chronic absenteeism rates drop were Pueblo (-1.4), Aurora (-1.2) , Boulder (-.3), Littleton (-.2), and Cherry Creek (-.2). Among large school districts that saw chronic absenteeism rates go up were Jefferson County (+.9), Denver (+1.0), St. Vrain Valley (+1.3), Mesa County 51 (+1.5), Westminster (+2.9), Englewood (+4.5), and Colorado Springs 11 (+16.6).
What’s next?
Research shows home visits are very effective, as well as these evidence-based strategies:
- Engaging families about attendance through text messages and postcards can nurture awareness. It also provides motivation for parents to get their kids in school
- Telling parents their child is missing but also comparing them to their peers can be helpful.
- Using warm and inclusive language that stresses shared purpose more effective than legalistic or threatening language
Other research shows investments in safe and more accessible transportation can lead to significant improvements in student attendance. Programs that target physical and mental health needs are also effective. Research shows students are more likely to attend school when their school work connects to their own identity and when they feel a sense of belonging at school.
This is a developing story.
