We know that attendance is key to student success and to closing academic gaps. And yet, since the pandemic, norms around work and learning have shifted dramatically to disrupt the tradition of school as attending in-person, five days a week. In fact, four-day school weeks occurred in about half of the states in the 2022–2023 school year, while across the country we see more experimentation with hybrid learning, micro-schools and other innovations. Simultaneously, we see more parents embracing “school choice” through home schooling, Education Savings Accounts and other means that give them more control over their child’s specific educational experience. Amidst these changing norms, chronic absenteeism has spiked in recent years, and it is a complex challenge with many root causes unique to each school’s and community’s population and context.

What do these changes mean for our education system overall, and for lower-income students who rely on school as a place not just to learn but also to receive basic supports and forge meaningful relationships? And how do we — as education leaders, caregivers, community members and more — see that all students experience the support, encouragement and ability to attend school every day and engage in learning, however that may look?