FAIRFIELD – Solano County Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck announced today that local school districts are coordinating efforts to boost student attendance by addressing chronic absences. Chronic absences occur when a student misses 10 percent or more total school days, about 18 days per year, for any reason including excused absences.

“Research proves that students who are chronically absent in Kindergarten and 1st grade are far less likely to read proficiently by 3rd grade,” said Speck. “For every day of school missed, it takes three days to make up what was taught. By the 6th grade, if a student continues to be chronically absent, it is a leading indicator of whether he or she will drop out of high school. In the 9th grade, chronic absences are a better indicator than test scores of a student’s likelihood to graduate from high school.”

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