Perspective | When students aren’t in their seats, learning can’t happen
Before a student can benefit from a great teacher, engaging instruction, or any of the academic supports their school has to offer, they need to show up. And while that sounds obvious, for a growing number of North Carolina students, showing up is the hard part.
During the 2024-25 school year, nearly one in four students across the state were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10% of the school year, or roughly two days per month. For students experiencing poverty, the number increased to one in three students, which was 10 percentage points higher than the year before the pandemic.
Chronic absenteeism is not a minor problem. It touches nearly every school in North Carolina, and its consequences follow students far beyond a single missed school day.
Why two days a month matters so much
The threshold for chronic absenteeism is lower than most people expect. Two absences a month add up to 18 or more days a year — enough to fall behind in reading and math, to miss foundational instruction that teachers do not always have time to reteach, and to begin the gradual process of disengaging from school altogether.
Research is consistent on this point. Attendance in the early grades predicts academic outcomes all the way through high school. Chronic absenteeism in early elementary school contributes to achievement gaps that persist for years. By middle school, regular absences begin to signal something more concerning: Research has found that absenteeism as early as sixth grade increases the likelihood that a student will drop out.
Timing matters, too. Absence from school in the 30 days before a state assessment is shown to have a measurable impact on math performance, suggesting that even a few missed days at the wrong moment can have real academic consequences.
Chronic absenteeism impacts more than just one student. Regularly attending students in classrooms with high rates of absenteeism show lower achievement. As teachers shift to catch absent students up, classroom instruction is disrupted.
More on school attendance
Dropping out is a process, not a moment
For too long, conversations about dropout prevention have focused on high school. But the warning signs start much earlier. Researchers describe dropping out not as an event, but as a slow process of disengagement that can begin in elementary school. Poor attendance, declining engagement, and low academic performance are not just symptoms of a student in trouble, they predict what comes next. In North Carolina, attendance is the most cited reason for dropping out — representing 36% of dropouts.
The costs of inaction are significant and far-ranging. Research has estimated the lifetime fiscal burden to taxpayers of a student who drops out instead of graduating from high school is more than $292,000. For families and communities, the social and economic losses are even greater, amounting to a nearly $550,000 lifetime impact between high school dropouts and graduates.
Absenteeism has roots outside the classroom
One of the most important things we know about chronic absenteeism is that it rarely begins inside the classroom. Students miss school because of what is happening in their lives, not just because they do not value education.
Researchers have identified multiple barriers that impact a student’s ability to attend school regularly. Some students cannot attend because of barriers they and their families may face: a parent who works night shifts and cannot ensure siblings get to school, unreliable transportation, housing instability, or untreated health conditions create obstacles to regular attendance.
For some students, safety or climate are concerns, such as pervasive bullying or an environment in which students and parents/caregivers do not feel welcomed. And still others do not attend because they have already disengaged — they have stopped believing that school has something relevant or meaningful to offer them.
The practical implication is clear: Academic interventions alone will not fix chronic absenteeism. If a student is missing school because they are helping care for a younger sibling, giving them tutoring on the days they do show up is not a solution. The root cause must be identified and addressed.
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Solutions focused on proven outcomes
Addressing chronic absenteeism requires a whole-school response, not a single program or policy. The research points to a consistent set of conditions that make a difference: strong relationships between students and adults, early identification of students who may be chronically absent, proactive outreach to families, and connections to community resources that address the nonacademic barriers getting in the way.
That means schools need both data and relationships. Data tells you who is missing school. Relationships tell you why. Neither is sufficient alone. A student flagged by an attendance dashboard still needs a trusted adult who can have an honest conversation with them and their family, codevelop a plan, and facilitate follow through.
Schools and districts that are making progress tend to share a few things in common. They treat attendance as a schoolwide priority, not just a front-office function. They work one-on-one with students and families before absences accumulate rather than after. And they connect students and families to community supports rather than expecting families to navigate those systems on their own.
Approaches like Integrated Student Supports (ISS) formalize this work by embedding trained staff directly in schools to identify needs, coordinate resources, and partnering with students and families through case management, especially those most at-risk of absenteeism, academic failure, retention, and dropping out. Research has found that ISS improves both attendance and student engagement.
Evaluations of Communities In Schools, the leading provider of Integrated Student Supports in North Carolina serving more than 200 schools, found that students served by the program had significantly higher attendance rates and a lower probability of dropping out than comparable students who did not receive ISS.
Nash Central High School is one example of how partnerships and systems, including case managing students most in need, can drive strong attendance outcomes. Dr. Jonathan Tribula, the school’s principal, attributes a 50% reduction in chronic absenteeism to a schoolwide culture built through collaboration among Communities In Schools, social work staff, and the broader school team.
Innovation in NC schools
North Carolina is paying attention
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Office of Research and Promising Practices has launched AttendNC Counts, a statewide initiative that brings together data, research, and effective practices to help schools improve student attendance.
As part of this work, DPI has developed resources and tools help districts and schools strengthen their attendance efforts, including school and district planning guides and an AI-powered assistant that supports educators in identifying and adapting strategies to fit their local contexts and needs.
DPI’s AttendNC Bright Spots initiative identifies schools making significant progress in reducing chronic absenteeism and looks beyond the numbers to understand what they are doing differently. By documenting the routines, relationships, and strategies behind that progress, DPI aims to provide practical ideas that other schools can adapt within their own communities.
During Attendance Awareness Month in September, several Bright Spot principals from northeastern North Carolina will share their experiences during a panel discussion at the State Board of Education meeting this week.
The bottom line
If we want students in North Carolina to benefit from the investments we make in education, students first have to be in the building. That requires understanding why they are not there, and having the structures in place to respond.
The research is clear. Attendance matters from the very beginning of a child’s school career. Disengagement is a process that can be interrupted. And the most effective approaches address the whole child, not just the academic symptom.
North Carolina has bright spots. Today we are learning from them, and making what works available to every student who needs it.