During a press conference on August 22, MCPS officials announced the ALL TOGETHER Now action plan to address the increasing rate of chronic student absences. MCPS officials have started implementing the policy, created by members of the Board of Education, into the 2023-24 school year by promoting campaigns on the importance of keeping regular school attendance, analyzing data and incorporating parent and student feedback.
Montgomery County Public School defines a chronic absence as missing 18 or more school days in a year, regardless of the reason. In the 2022-23 school year, 42,863 students in MCPS — 27% of the entire student body — were chronically absent compared to 30,349 students during the 2018-19 school year. The plan aims to decrease chronic absences by analyzing the cause of absenteeism, requiring each school to develop a customized plan with goals to decrease student absences and launching a system-wide campaign to raise awareness about consistent school attendance. The movement focuses on three priorities: trust between students and staff, support for mental health and equitable teaching, according to a community letter from Superintendent Monifa McKnight.
Junior Sophie Castleberry believes attendance is crucial for learning, especially in high school.
“I feel like if I miss a class then I’m never going to learn anything,” Castleberry said. “If you’re not there then you’re not getting the information, and you have to go in after school or during lunch, using other people’s time.”
The updated policy will incorporate an analysis of student data within schools that will focus on different students, day of the week, department, course, teacher and period. Additionally, it will use feedback tools to review and identify patterns related to students’ environment and factors affecting attendance.
At Whitman, five unexcused absences result in an intervention plan with an administrator and counselor, said attendance secretary Felicia Serpan.
“[Schools] are not supposed to excuse vacations, drivers license tests, family issues and any of that kind of stuff,” Serpan said. “I’ve always personally felt like we have failed our students by not following the rules of attendance because they are not prepared for college.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the US have recorded an estimated 6.5 million chronic absences, according to a 2023 Stanford study. Student attendance has declined each year since school closures due to the pandemic. On average, post-pandemic schools saw more than 25% of students missing 10% of school compared to the 15% of students that missed before COVID-19.
Junior Ellie Jane Issac believes that the pandemic has decreased student motivation to arrive at school early in the morning.
“When people were home they really enjoyed that time to themselves and sleeping in and some days we didn’t even have school,” Issac said. “I think people missed that and [that] has affected their sleep schedule and not wanting to come to school.”
