Metro elementary cuts chronic absence nearly in half this quarter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The number of chronically absent students at Shwab Elementary in Nashville is nearly half of what it was this time last year, according to school officials.

A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% of school days. Members of the attendance team at Shwab said in Nov. 2022, 30% of students were chronically absent. One year later, that number is 17%, or around 50 students.

School counselor Olivia Moore said they are working to reduce the rates even more.

“We do everything from student incentives, classroom incentives, but also some parent incentives, because we know that at this age that it is up to the parents to get the kids to school,” Moore said. “So we also want to make sure that we are working directly with families to make sure they understand the importance and then also reward them when they get their kids here every day, on time.”

The school recently introduced an attendance store. Parents or guardians get three “Bee Bucks” each day their child is at school. They can then exchange those Bee Bucks for items in the school store that can’t be bought with food stamps. The store has items like cleaning supplies, vitamins and detergents.

“They earn money for getting their kids to school and then they can come spend it on some stuff that’s just, you know, helpful to be able to not have to spend your own, hard-earned cash on,” Moore said.

The school also introduced monthly meetings with parents of chronically absent students. In them, they speak about the importance of attendance, and go over a personalized plan for each child.

“We have printed out each individual student’s data with like their test scores and things like that, so we can really show that connection between how many days they’ve missed, and then where they stand academic-wise,” Moore said. “We’ve seen a big improvement with those families that came to the meeting.”

On top of incentives for parents, the school offers perfect attendance parties each month for the students that earned it. This November, 92 students earned the right to pie one of their teachers in the face.

Assistant Principal Derica Griggs said their focus is on kids not only showing up to class, but also on kids staying all day.

“Arriving to school on time and then staying all day, those are both very important factors,” Griggs said. “So what does that look like for a child who arrives late to class and so the teacher has to start to get them caught up? If you add missing days of school onto that, that could become a repetitive thing, because now they’re not into the routine.”

National data shows that pandemic-era increases in chronic absence are associated with a large decline in student achievement. Moore echoed the disruption it causes to the classroom.

“Every day that they’re not here, they’re missing both the academics, they’re missing the socialization with their peers, just knowing the daily routine of what they do here at school,” she said.

According to Tennessee Department of Education data, almost 30% of Metro Public Schools students are chronically absent.

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