By Jay Speck, Solano County Superintendent of Schools
Special to Patch

As we approach the second half of the school year, some students are already heading toward academic trouble – they have missed too many days of school. Chronic absences often hinder academic performance at each subsequent grade level; yet close to 7.5 million students across our nation miss nearly a month of school every year.

Problems with absenteeism can start surprisingly early. National research shows that 1 in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students are chronically absent, meaning that they miss 10 percent of the school year, or roughly 18 days of instruction, due to excused and unexcused absences.

via Op-Ed: Missing School Hurts Students, Must be Addressed by Community.