Nearly 26,000 Washoe County School District (WCSD) students in grades 5-12 participated in a 2022-23 school year climate survey. In most categories, including safety, support, respect and engagement, the responses remained largely unchanged from previous surveys, with one notable exception: bullying.
In the two preceding school years, 46% of students reported incidents of bullying at their school. However, this figure increased by 6 percentage points in the 2022-23 school year, reaching a new percentage of 52% of students, tipping over into the majority.
Over the past two school years, 80% of students reported feeling safe at school, but this dropped by 2 percentage points in the 2022-23 school year.
At the elementary level, 91% of students believed that their teachers cared about them and that a teacher or another adult at school would notice if they were absent. As they progressed to middle school and high school, these numbers declined to only 78% and 77%, respectively.
Other declines were observed from elementary school to secondary schools, including students who felt they were a part of their school (79% to 65%) and those who believed their teachers understood their problems (67% to 51%).
The survey data revealed that Asian students typically had more positive perceptions of school climate, whereas Black students had less positive perceptions. Elementary-aged students, across the board, reported more positive views of their school climate compared to their counterparts in secondary schools.
According to Laura Davidson, WCSD’s director of research and evaluation, there is a distinct correlation between student groups who do not feel welcomed, safe or excited to attend school and chronic absenteeism, a term used for students who miss 10% or more of the school year.
For instance, American Indian, Black and Pacific Islander students had significantly higher absences than their Asian and white peers. Increased absences were also notably higher among students in foster care, those experiencing poverty, English learners and students with special needs.
“We can cite students for truancy if they’ve been cited three times, but we typically don’t issue citations until they’ve undergone an attendance review board hearing.”
It’s important to note, however, that school absences have risen nationwide since the onset of the pandemic, which may partly be due to parents and caregivers keeping their children at home when they are unwell, in contrast to pre-pandemic practices.
Chronic absenteeism had a more pronounced impact on middle and high school students, increasing by about 2 percentage points each year, from sixth through 11th grade, with a more substantial increase in 12th grade (49%). However, the average daily attendance for the district as a whole remains high, with nearly 93% of students attending each day. Students are considered chronically absent when they miss an average of at least two days every month during the school year.
The data indicate students reported improvements in social and emotional competencies compared to the previous school year. These categories encompass social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-awareness, management of emotions, relationship skills and self-management of goals and school work.
The categories with the lowest scores were self-management of schoolwork and self-management of emotions. The highest scores were in being socially aware and making responsible choices.
High school students also rated their social and emotional competencies higher than elementary school students, but female-identifying students generally rated their social-emotional skills lower than their male counterparts.
Chronic absenteeism causes and solutions
A reason behind the increase in absenteeism, Davidson said, could be due to an increase in student mental health and physical health struggles.
“Mental health is a huge challenge and can often be a barrier for getting to school, and students are out sick more [than in previous years],” she said.
Trustee Adam Mayberry expressed his belief that some of the issues with chronic absenteeism may be related to parents not consistently ensuring their children attend school.
“Are there any legal consequences for parents, and students for that matter, when it comes to truancy?” he inquired.
Paul LeMarca, chief student and family supports officer, said, “We can cite students for truancy if they’ve been cited three times, but we typically don’t issue citations until they’ve undergone an attendance review board hearing.”
There are no direct consequences for parents, he added. Still, human services agencies may be contacted if there are suspicions of “educational neglect” on the part of caregivers. LaMarca said there are “limited remedies” available to ensure students regularly attend school.
Trustee Jeff Church said he had heard from students who said they stay home from school due to safety concerns.
LaMarca noted, “I do think there is some correlation between student behavior and chronic absenteeism,” pointing out the 2% decrease in the perception of safety in the student climate survey. He added that data on this would be available at a later time.
Superintendent Susan Enfield acknowledged that while nobody is celebrating the high rate of chronic absenteeism, they are committed to celebrating progress in reducing it.
“I think we all agree that the [percentage of chronic absenteeism] is unacceptably high, and we all remain committed to doing everything we can to engage with our students, our families, and our staff to turn it around,” she said.
Enfield also asked about legislation that allows students to take mental health days without affecting their chronic absenteeism rate.
LaMarca clarified that students can take excused mental health days if approved by a mental health professional or a medical doctor. However, he acknowledged that not all students have equal access to these professionals, which presents an issue.
“As a parent, I do believe I’m responsible for knowing if my child is not fit for school on a particular day, so I need to take them home,” he said.
Enfield said she had looked into the legislation and discovered that student nurses can provide excused absences for mental health days, which addresses equity issues for students who do not have regular access to mental health or medical professionals.
Truste Colleen Westlake said she was concerned students who are chronically absent are being allowed to continue to the next grade. At some point the students should be held back so they can catch up, she said.
“I think it’s important to note that chronic absenteeism is nuanced,” Enfield said. “I think when a lot of people hear chronic absenteeism they think of a student who isn’t passing, and in some cases that may be true. However there are some students who can keep up while being chronically absent, which I think speaks to our antiquated school system that forces high schoolers to go to school all four years no matter what. But that’s a discussion for another day. I really do think we don’t want to make too many assumptions.”
Enfield said the district should be cautious when talking about consequences for chronic absenteeism. She said that, in years past, the consequence was suspension, which only made the issue worse. “I think we need to get down to the reasons behind that behavior and what we can do about it,” she said.
