Reducing Chronic Absenteeism Report

 Six Indianapolis charter schools share practices to address systemic attendance challenges

The Mind Trust published “Reducing Chronic Absenteeism,” a new report highlighting how six charter and innovation schools are reducing chronic absenteeism in their buildings. This research initiative was driven by the recognition that chronic absenteeism, defined as missing ten percent or more of school days in an academic year, has become a significant challenge for schools nationwide and has a direct impact on student achievement and well-being. The report identifies effective practices that can be implemented at schools of all types in Indianapolis and beyond.

The report identifies several shared challenges across all six schools, which serve a combined 6,597 students. Challenges include inconsistent student transportation, the financial and operational responsibility of providing transportation services, limited access to healthcare, and mental health barriers. 

Following thorough interviews aimed at exploring strategies for proactively addressing attendance barriers within their control, four overarching themes prevailed:

1. Cultivating Environments of Belonging

Each school emphasized the pivotal role of school culture in fostering students’ sense of belonging through relentless relationship-building with students and families and recruiting a staff that is reflective of the school’s students.

“Cultural dynamics play a significant role in student motivation. The strength of relationships profoundly influences students’ desire to attend school, as they feel valued and missed by both their teachers and peers.” – School Leader, Herron Prepatory Academy

“I believe the biggest reason students want to come here is because they love their teachers. We have an environment where the students feel safe and welcome and where identity is something they talk about constantly, not separate from academics but as a part of academics.” ―Executive Director, Monarca Academy

2. Tracking Attendance Consistently

The schools highlighted in this report emphasized the importance of tracking attendance daily and implementing systems that assign clear responsibilities to each step underscoring the significance of attendance in achieving overall school success.

“School culture and establishing standard protocols for attendance goes a long way. We take attendance seriously and tie that into our evaluation rubric for all of our staff. Everyone in the building is responsible for student attendance.” ―School Leader, Enlace Academy

“We have a dashboard for our Board of Directors and we track attendance even on our board dashboard.” ―School Leader, Indiana Math and Science Academy West

3. Responding Swiftly

Each school highlighted in this report emphasized the importance of regularly reviewing attendance trends and identifying resources to address barriers swiftly as part of their continuous improvement efforts.

“We know what’s going on with each family so we’re able to support them with any specific problems or issues that they may be encountering. The attendance report will come out and Stephanie (School Leader) can look at it and she can tell you, specifically for every student, the reason why they’re not in the building.” – School Leader, Enlace Academy

“We have social workers on staff K-12 who help connect families to the resources they need in order to get here. We’ve caught things through our advisory time like families not having enough gas money to drive their kid to school for the week. We’ve been able to offer resources like gas gift cards.” – School Leader, Christel House

4. Collaborating with Community and External Partners

All schools spoke on the importance of viewing parents and families as genuine partners, recognizing them as essential contributors to the shared mission of providing an excellent education for every child.

“We reach out to families when we notice an attendance trend to see if there are any barriers that we are not aware of. Sometimes families have a housing situation or fall into hard times so we can provide support like bus passes. We don’t want to slap parents on the wrist, we try to mitigate barriers.” ―School Leader, Allegiant Prep

“While we have Project One Love, we have some families who need care until 6:30pm. That’s where the Boys and Girls Club came in. They were the only partner that could stay open until 6:30 pm. What we noticed was, parents were getting off work at 6 pm. It takes them 30 min to get to the school from work. There are families that literally get here every evening at 6:30 pm so we’ve intentionally placed the students who need that service in the club.” ―School Leader, Enlace Academy

This report would not have been possible without the generous time, effort, and insights shared by Allegiant Prep, Christel House Academy, Enlace Academy, Herron Preparatory Academy, Indiana Math and Science Academy West (IMSA), and Monarca Academy. Thank you for your unwavering commitment and for going above and beyond to serve your students. We are truly honored to partner with you in your important work.

Click here to download the full Reducing Chronic Absenteeism report.

Click here to download the Executive Summary of the Reducing Chronic Absenteeism report.

Click here to download a one-pager of the Reducing Chronic Absenteeism report.

 

The report highlights six charter and innovation schools, each with its unique, effective approach to addressing chronic absenteeism:

    • Allegiant Preparatory Academy intentionally builds a school culture of student agency and belonging, consistently monitors attendance as part of its commitment to continuous improvement, and actively collaborates with families to overcome barriers to regular school attendance.

    • Enlace Academy emphasizes positive school culture and loving relationships, shared responsibility for identifying and addressing barriers swiftly, and creating supportive external partnerships to alleviate student and family barriers.

    • Herron Preparatory Academy focuses on cultivating strong relationships with students and families, establishing clear attendance expectations to foster a culture of success, and addressing barriers through targeted, strategic interventions.

    • Indiana Math and Science Academy West (IMSA) proactively monitors attendance and responds swiftly, fostering a school culture of care and support, and balancing both rigor and fun, making school a place students want to be every day.

    • Monarca Academy creates a culturally-relevant and supportive school community, implementing targeted and individualized outreach efforts, and teaching student agency and responsibility.

    • Additionally, the report features Christel House Indianapolis as a “School on the Move”, highlighting its commitment to addressing attendance barriers head-on, even as it navigates ongoing absenteeism challenges. The network is relentless at fostering relationships and providing Whole-Child support, implementing restorative practices in place of suspension, and solving for barriers and providing ongoing support to students five years post-graduation.

Click here to download the full Reducing Chronic Absenteeism report.