New report reveals Arizona students are chronically absent from school

A new report from Helios Education Foundation and WestEd shows Arizona students are still missing too much school. The report reveals nearly one-third of elementary and junior high students remain chronically absent.

The Helios Education Foundation’s “Still Missing Too Much School” report examined data on previous absence rates from the 2022-23 school year and found about 30% of first through eighth-grade students were chronically absent.

“Chronic absenteeism rates in Arizona remain high, and it’s leading to inequalities in educational outcomes,” Helios Vice President of Community Impact and Learning Paul Perrault said.

Additional reports revealed some students moved to different schools; this is called “alternative definition.”

According to reports, Native American, Alaskan Native, African American and Hispanic Latino students on average had higher rates of chronic absenteeism.

Perrault said some students miss school to work jobs, babysit younger siblings or some kids even get into trouble.

Students who started fifth grade in 2020 had a higher rate of chronic absenteeism when they reached ninth grade than other classes.

“They are missing school at much higher rates than they were before the pandemic. That’s really leading to poor academic outcome impacts in places like mathematics and English,” Perrault said.

Among the absentees, the English-language learners were higher in numbers than any other students, particularly those who started fifth grade in the 2018-19 school year.

Students at Murphy Elementary School District in Phoenix were chronically absent. Nathan Dettmar, District Superintendent said, “During the pandemic, the district had a 50% chronic absence rate. The district is now closer to 25% of students being chronically absent.

To overcome the chronic absences, the district educated families on the importance of ensuring kids made it to school and focused on the relationships between the schools and families.