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 that during the pandemic the district’s absenteeism rate increased and currently is decreasing.

“But we are not yet at pre-COVID absenteeism rates,” Broncato said.

Illinois law requires that all school districts collect and review their chronic absence data and determine what systems of support and resources are needed to engage chronically absent students and their families.

To that end, Russell said in his message to parents that attendance also impact’s a school’s state rating.

“The state will release its 2023 school report cards later this month. Included in the school report cards is a school’s rating,” Russell said. “The state calculates these ratings using a variety of factors, 20% of which is based on its chronic absenteeism rate. Even if a school is strong academically, if it has a high chronic absenteeism rate, its overall score will be affected. Many families review these ratings before considering whether to move to an area.”

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.

When should parents keep their children at home?

“We know if a student is running a fever that would be a time when a student should stay home,” Stewart said. “Or if there is consistent vomiting or diarrhea, that’s not a time to send them to school. But with milder symptoms, such as a cough, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t come to school. Certainly, when you’re talking about truancy, it can feel very negative. We want parents to better understand that it’s OK to send kids to school in some instances.”