Help us get our panel, “Cracking the Code on Chronic Absenteeism,” chosen for the SXSW EDU 2020 event in Austin, Texas, March 9-12, 2020, by voting today! Voting ends this Friday, August 23.

Here’s more on the panel:

The age-old problem of skipping school has become a national epidemic. Nearly eight million students are chronically absent — meaning they miss a month or more of school each year. Chronic absenteeism is associated with lower academic achievement and increased dropout rates. This panel will discuss how chronic absenteeism is a measure of student wellness and will offer evidenced-based solutions that all educators and communities can use to help every student attend school every day. The panel will:

1. Identify techniques for community organizing and collaboration that are integrated into efforts to transform schools and reduce chronic absenteeism.
2. Describe how early warning data tools are helping schools and districts monitor and act on chronic absenteeism before it becomes a problem.
3. Discuss how an evidenced-based success mentorship program is helping chronically absent students gain as much as a month or more of school.

Panelists:

• Sarah Peterson, Director of Research and Development, Office of Community Schools, New York City Department of Education

• Joshua Childs, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin

• Mark Dunetz, President, New Visions for Public Schools

• Rekha Balu, Director, Center for Applied Behavioral Science at MDRC