Source: School Pulse Panel, National Center for Education Statistics

In post-pandemic PreK-12 education, the issue of chronic absence looms large. Recently released federal data show that during the 2021-22 school year and beyond, 72 percent of all public schools experienced an increase in chronic absence, defined as missing at least 10% of the school year, prompting a response and action from the White House.   

School districts nationwide grapple with strategies to combat this persistent problem, often turning to various interventions like knocking on doors, truancy officers, text messaging, sending social workers—and even conducting home visits—to enforce attendance. While these efforts are well-intentioned and can be effective in getting students to attend school, it’s also time to consider a broader, more holistic approach that addresses the root causes of the problem and implement foundational practices that offer pathways to preventing and resolving chronic absence.  

At Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV), we advocate for a paradigm shift in how we view and use home visit practices. Unlike traditional models that focus on compliance with school rules and reinforce counterproductive power dynamics, our approach prioritizes building relationships and trust between families and teachers. Instead of viewing home visits as a means to an end – namely, improving attendance rates – we see them as a powerful tool for fostering genuine connections that motivate students to attend school. Students who know the adults in their lives care about them feel a sense of connection and belonging that drives their desire to achieve. 

To be sure, school attendance is a building block of student achievement. Teaching and learning are dramatically different for kids who don’t come to school, and the spillover effects are palpable and frightening. From the earliest years, chronic absence results in students struggling with reading and math, difficulty learning English for some, and teachers confronting the challenges of instructional continuity for entire classrooms. In the later years, chronic absence predicts failing classes more than test scores. It’s a better predictor of graduation than grade point average, according to the Brookings Institution.  

But chronic absence is a symptom, a canary in the coal mine for larger systemic issues. Of the many structural problems leading to chronic absence are unstable housing, lack of access to physical and mental healthcare, inconsistent access to reliable transportation, food insecurity, and many other socioeconomic issues families battle each day. Enforcing compliance without addressing underlying systemic issues is akin to putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. While it may temporarily address surface-level problems, it fails to address the root causes that perpetuate chronic absence. Overly punitive measures may even exacerbate the underlying problems. True change requires an integrated approach that addresses systemic issues and creates conditions for meaningful student engagement and lasting improvement. This requires working with families, leveraging their strengths and assets, to meet some of these needs. 

In addition to offering comprehensive supports to students and community members, a shift in how schools relate to the families who send the kids to school is in order. This requires systemic and equitable family engagement. We believe everyone in a school community has a responsibility to create a positive school culture, in which students can learn and thrive. Before the pandemic, schools that practiced our model of home visits fostered a sense of belonging and trust with families such that they didn’t experience the same levels of disconnection as other schools when the shutdown occurred.  

Likewise, those school districts that strategically directed pandemic-era funding toward systemic family engagement practices, such as Parent Teacher Home Visits, to embed relationship-building and socioemotional wellbeing into everything they do have fared better in their recovery efforts. Meanwhile, those still relying on aggressive and punitive measures are seeing school attendance worsen and accounting for historically low performance on assessments.   

Research and evaluations of our model consistently show that investing in relationship-building home visits leads to increased attendance. In an independent evaluation of Parent Teacher Home Visits, students whose families received a home visit using the PTHV model were found to have 21% lower odds of being chronically absent compared with students whose families did not participate in a home visit. Furthermore, findings revealed that PTHV has a positive impact on all students in a school when implemented with at least 10% of the student population. That kind of systematic implementation resulted in students, whether they received a visit or not, having 22% lower odds of being chronically absent. This finding shows that our model of home visits shifts school culture, and improved engagement and positive relationships are contagious. 

Still, it’s essential to understand this outcome as an additional benefit rather than the primary goal. We focus on and highlight the broader impact of home visits on strengthening family-school partnerships and enhancing student well-being, which ultimately lead to academic success.  In doing so, we shift the narrative away from metrics that make it appear to be a silver bullet or a plug-and-play solution that allows school system leaders to quickly check the attendance problem off their list. 

The data on chronic absence and the downwind effects of it are alarming, and we understand the constraints school districts face in allocating resources effectively to address the issues. With limited time and funding, it’s crucial to prioritize programs and practices that offer lasting value and produce results. Our model of home visits supports these efforts, but more importantly, it lays the groundwork for sustained engagement and collaboration between families and schools. Real progress requires intentionality and deliberate effort, and is not found in the search for shortcuts. 

Our goal at PTHV is to offer a new perspective on the role of home visits. By emphasizing trust-building, partnership, and relationship-building, rather than focusing solely on attendance numbers, we can create more meaningful and sustainable change in our schools. There’s no substitute for this work when it comes to achieving meaningful results. 

Whatever your district’s path to tackling chronic absenteeism, consider the following as helpful guideposts along your journey. 

• Focus on Trust: Our model prioritizes building trust and relationships between families and teachers, which lays the foundation for long-term engagement and support. 
• Think Big Picture: Recognize that genuine connections and deep relationships are a primary goal, with increased attendance following. 
• Search for Sustainable – Not Speedy – Solutions: By investing in trust-building initiatives, schools can create lasting change that goes beyond short-term fixes for chronic absence. 
• Shift the Narrative: It’s time to reframe the conversation around home visits, moving away from a narrow focus on attendance numbers and toward a more comprehensive approach to family-school partnerships. 
• Count on Community: Parent Teacher Home Visits provide an opportunity for educators—and all school staff—to better understand the needs and strengths of their students’ families, fostering a collaborative approach to addressing challenges. 
• Share Power with Parents: By valuing the perspectives and experiences of families, we recognize their active role in their children’s education and well-being. They are, after all, their children’s first teacher. Ensure they are equipped to support learning at home. Schools should exhaust every possible channel of communication to reach all families and welcome them at the table of decision-making. 
• Seek Long-term Benefits: The impact of trust-building home visits extends far beyond improved attendance, contributing to a positive school climate and student success, and benefiting teachers, communities, and families.