Helios report: Arizona's chronic absence rates still haven't bounced back to pre-pandemic levels

The number of Arizona high school students who are chronically absent peaked around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report from the Helios Education Foundation shows those numbers still haven’t fully bounced back.

Chronic absence is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year. In Arizona, that’s about 18 days of class. Over the last three years, Helios has consistently tracked absence rates for students in grades K-8.

This is the first time the organization has examined the data for high school students. Helios Senior Vice President of Community Impact and Learning, Paul Perrault said they’re seeing a trend that shows from third grade all the way to 12th grade, there’s an increase in the percentage of students who are chronically absent each year.

“We see 10th graders missing more than ninth, 11th graders missing more than 10th and that’s just really problematic as we think about students getting ready for a career and workforce opportunities," Perrault said.

The most recent numbers from the 2023-24 school year show absence rates have fallen from their pandemic-era peak, but are still about 10 percentage points higher than they were before that. Absence rates remain higher among low-income students and minorities.

Some schools have implemented successful strategies. Chandler High School Principal Greg Milbrandt said his teachers are encouraged to make meaningful connections with students so they know there's someone on campus who cares about them.

“We also have security checking on kids and making sure that we don’t have students wandering the campus when they should be in class [and] checking in with students they haven’t seen in a few days," Milbrandt said.

CHS combined that with other methods, like calling home regularly when students miss school, making sure families know about the resources available to their students and eliminating structural barriers like a split-lunch schedule and short passing periods.

Those strategies led to a five percentage point decrease in chronic absences in one year.

Students that are more chronically absent tend to have lower math and reading scores, which can lead to them being more disengaged with the school. Helios has partnered with Valley of the Sun United Way to equip educators across Maricopa County with tools to tackle attendance.