Panel prepares recommendations to address chronically absent students

DES MOINES - A uniform data-gathering method, a collection of best practices for schools and a statewide education campaign could help Iowa schools address students who miss an inordinate amount of class time, a state panel is set to recommend.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's chronic absenteeism advisory council met for its fourth and final time Monday in Des Moines and completed the four recommendations it will make to the governor.

The council, consisting of 32 education, community and state government officials, plans to recommend the state:

l Create a standard definition of chronic absenteeism and a uniform method for schools to track the data. The panel decided the definition should be missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

l Create a method for informing schools of best practices and resources for reducing absences.

l Launch a statewide education campaign noting the benefits of school attendance and the negative effects of chronic absenteeism and how resolving the issue will require a partnership between schools and communities.

l Establish an advisory group to explore ways schools can work with community organizations to improve school attendance.

The council Monday agreed to final tweaks of the recommendations, which it then will deliver to the governor.

'I'm excited about the recommendations. I think they chart a great path forward for Iowa to address a critically important issue, which is good attendance and combating chronic absenteeism,” Iowa Education Department Director Ryan Wise said after Monday's meeting. 'I think it gives clear direction and provides us with the opportunity to work with multiple stakeholders across Iowa.”

One in 10 Iowa kindergarteners was chronically absent in the 2010-11 school year, according to an analysis of state data conducted by the Des Moines-based Child and Family Policy Center.

Those students were one-and-a-half times less likely than their peers to be reading proficiently by third grade, a benchmark that educators have deemed critical for educational success.

Students who cannot read sufficiently by third grade often struggle to keep pace with their peers, and according to a 2012 national study by the Maryland-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, they are four times more likely than proficient readers to drop out of high school.

'I hope the council's work will raise awareness about the importance of good attendance in school and better addressing ... chronic absenteeism,” said Linda Fandel, a special assistant for education in Branstad's administration and the council's facilitator. 'This was really the first big conversation we've had at the state level about the negative impact of chronic absenteeism, so I think the recommendations will help schools and their communities move forward with families to address the problem.”

l Comments: (515) 422-9061; erin.murphy@lee.net