Reflection Post: Equity Gaps

My current journey in administrative education has led me to a

deep data analysis of my school’s current data over the past three years. The
purpose of this data analysis is to identify possible equity gaps and their root
causes while also identifying potential solutions. For the past few years, my
school has been struggling with student daily attendance. At first we had a PSA
counselor but have since lost the position. Since then, our rate of chronic
absenteeism has increased dramatically. Chronic absenteeism in my current
district is defined as absences that are more than 9% of the school year.
Therefore, students with more than 9% absences a year are considered to be
chronically absent. The 9% includes excused absences, unexcused absences,
and suspensions and expulsions.
My most recent data dive into the school showed that the rates of
absenteeism among all students increased from 7.4% in 2018 to 34.1% in 2022.
Part of this increase has been due to the pandemic and increased amount of
days students are out sick. There are other possible factors that go into a
student’s chronic absenteeism also. My data dive did show an increased rate of
chronic absenteeism among one particular student group throughout the past
three years of data collection. Students with disabilities had a much higher rate
of chronic absenteeism compared to any other subgroup in the data collection.
After interviewing some important stakeholders at the school including our
PSW, RSP teacher, and parents, I was able to gain a better understanding of
chronic absenteeism as it relates to students with disabilities. According to my
interviews, many of the absences from students with disabilities were due to
chronic illnesses that many students with disabilities have. According to
research from the National Center on Education outcomes, “Chronic
Absenteeism and Students with Disabilities,” students with IEPs (Individualized
Education Plan) are more than three times likely to have chronic health
conditions compared to students without an IEP. Other factors for chronic
absenteeism among students with disabilities include not feeling a sense of
belonging at school and parents not being able to respond to students if they
have behavior issues related to attending school. Research has shown that
students who feel a sense of belonging with peers and teachers have higher
rates of attendance and engage more academically at school(Bloom and
Libbey, 2004). Another article from the Teacher’s college titled “Disparities in
Chronic Absenteeism Between Students with and Without Disabilities in
Traditional Public Schools,” found a similar occurrence of high rates of chronic
absenteeism with students with disabilities being 50% more likely to be
chronically absent but found that SWDs are less likely to be chronically absent if
they are in a classroom where majority of students are general education
students.The research on the topic shows that chronic absenteeism is not just
an issue at my school, rather it is a problem affecting many students with
disabilities throughout the country. How do we address this within my own
school and community? How can we address this at a larger scale? Further
research is needed on my part but the issue is now something that will
influence my education career going forward.

Blum, R., Libbey, H. (2004). Executive Summary. The Journal of School Health 74(7),
231-32.

Boundy, K. B., & Cortiella, C. (2018). Chronic absenteeism and students with
disabilities: Health issues of students with disabilities: Impact on attendance.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational
Outcomes.

Gottfried, M., Stiefel, L., Schwartz, A., & Hopkins, B. (2019). Disparities in Chronic
Absenteeism Between Students with and Without Disabilities in Traditional Public
Schools. Teachers College Record, 121, 1-12.