An Overlooked Problem: Chronic Absenteeism in Middle School (2015)

Undergraduate: Victoria Cummings

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: Linguistics

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Chronic Absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10% of class during a given school year. In elementary school, parents are held accountable for their children¿¿¿s absence while students are held accountable for being at school in high school. Middle School is a period where students are trying to become independent while still being supervised by their parents. Social workers are typically the ones who work with chronically absent students and their parents and intervention programs vary by age. Previous research suggests that a combination of those practices that work best in both elementary and high schools, which are phone calls home and before/after school activities, respectively, work best in middle school. Other practices that address specific causes of absenteeism, such as bullying, have also been researched. This project explores which practices, if any, are used in middle schools that report high absenteeism rates and their effectiveness.