Among the interesting findings in our research about chronic absence: Children who attended preschool were less likely to be chronically absent in kindergarten. This suggests that preschool plays a role in building good attendance habits and establishing routines for the primary grades.
In a guest blog post that appeared on the New America Foundation's Early Ed Watch blog this morning, Louise Wiener and I explored what preschools, child care centers and elementary schools can do encourage good habits, not just for getting to school but for showing up on time.
As we wrote, "Communities can use data on chronic absence in kindergarten to determine where to open or expand preschools so they help address the needs of school experiencing high levels of poor attendance....
"We believe an even greater impact is possible if preschools and schools explicitly take action to improve attendance. The first step is for schools and preschools to collect and analyze attendance data child by child. The current focus on average daily attendance conveys how many students are showing up every day but it doesn’t tell us how many of the absent children are missing extended periods. Without individual data, it is impossible to identify and try to solve nascent problems."
We encourage policymakers, teachers and parents to take step to encourage good attendance habits--as early as possible.
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