NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia kids are missing more school now than before the pandemic, according to the Virginia Department of Education. That's why school superintendents, parents, doctors, and after-school organization leaders met Tuesday as part of the first Chronic Absenteeism Task Force.
The reasons for missing class can vary. A child could be sick, dealing with bullies, or have social anxiety, among other things.
"I've allowed them to stay home a lot of times when they are sick, which happens a lot at the beginning of the year," said Chesapeake parent Brie Flyge.
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Absences can add up quickly.
"He had Covid twice," Flyge explained. "That ate up five days right there."
"Do you find it difficult as a parent to balance taking care of your kids' mental health and physical health with their education?" News 3 reporter Erika Craven asked parents.
"Absolutely," said Flyge. "And we have therapy that doesn't do after school. We have to do during school hours."
In other cases, kids aren't making it to school because they don't have transportation.
"We had a student who wasn't coming to school," said Dr. Doug Straley, Louisa County Public Schools Superintendent, Chronic Absenteeism Task Force member. "The attendance specialist reached out and the mother had had surgery. She had an infant as well as her second grader. She didn't want to send the second grader to the end of the driveway, but she couldn't carry the infant anymore because she had surgery and didn't have a stroller."
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Absences across the commonwealth are becoming more frequent. Dr. Straley said it's an unintended consequence of the pandemic.
"It was a mindset change," said Dr. Straley.
Pre-pandemic to now, chronic absenteeism—where kids are missing two or more days of school a month—has doubled for third to fifth graders in Virginia according to the Department of Education.
Parents said they don't want their kid's education to suffer.
"It's really concerning," said Tian Olson, parent representative on the Chronic Absenteeism Task Force. "The children are our future."
But parents also said since some absences can't be avoided, they're worried about schools upping consequences if kids miss school.
"It stresses me out, but I am going to do what's best for them," said Flyge.
Flyge said she's thankful her kids are able to catch up with course-work easily with the addition of virtual options for study. But, according to task force members, that's not always the case when kids consistently miss lots of school.
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The impact of having so many empty classroom chairs according to the task force?
"When kids aren't in school, they don't interact with other people," Chronic Absenteeism Task Force member and Newport News superintendent Michele Mitchell explained how chronic absenteeism impacts future jobs. "It's very difficult to be on the job and know how to work with people who aren't like you."
Task force members say it's not only students who feel the impact.
"On any given day a quarter of their students are not in class. That takes a lot of work to catch those students up," said Dr. Straley. "Teachers are working two, three, four, five, times as hard with the same result."
Tuesday, the task force discussed solutions that didn't include punishment.
Members discussed how to track and compare transportation and attendance to identify how to make sure students have rides to and from school. Others plan to build out after school programs that fill the gap between the school day and when parents get off work.
The task force also discussed what's already helping.
Hampton Roads schools say they're partnering with doctors and dentists to encourage parents to schedule their kids' appointments before or after school hours.
