1 in 4 U.S. teachers are chronically absent

If only there was something we could do about this problem, which significantly decreases student outcome:

More than 1 in 4 of the nation’s full-time teachers are considered chronically absent from school, according to federal data, missing the equivalent of more than two weeks of classes each academic year in what some districts say has become an educational crisis.

The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights estimated this summer that 27 percent of the nation’s teachers are out of school for more than 10 days of regular classes — some missing far more than 10 days — based on self-reported numbers from the nation’s school districts. But some school systems, especially those in poor, rural areas and in some major cities, saw chronic absenteeism among teachers rise above 75 percent in 2014, the last year for which data is available.
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The National Bureau of Economic Research has found that when teachers are absent for at least 10 days, there is a significant decrease in student outcomes. The decrease, according to one study, is equivalent to the difference between having a new teacher and one with two or three years of experience.

1 in 4 U.S. teachers are chronically absent, missing more than 10 days of school

 

Read further and you can guess why teachers don't want to show up. Who wants to be in charge of unruly kids when parents can't or won't handle it?

 

Then find a new job.

 

Just wait until the election is over and YF can get back to shitting on teachers again.

 

That's what they're doing, by and large. Thus the teacher shortage.

 

That's fine.

But not liking your job is not a justification for not showing up.

 

Tell that to Marco Rubio.

 

Are they taking the paid days off that are part of their contract? If so, that's their right, no?

 

Drinky drinky emoticon.

 

This is the YF we all liked. Not the ugly Trump YF.

 

Haven't you met millennials?

 

Of course, buried deep in the article is the fact that the data is flawed, dramatically so in some districts. Many districts included professional development days in the totals even though they were not supposed to do that. There is actually no information at all regarding the reason behind the absences, which is data many school districts keep. Hell, given that the study makes no distinction regarding the reason for absences, I wonder if some districts included maternity leaves.

YF, did you even read far enough to see that part? Or did you stop at the headline and perhaps a paragraph or two?

It looks like the study took data from one year. Are those teachers "chronically absent" on a consistent basis? Or was it a one-time situation? People suffer serious illnesses. They have surgery. They lose loved ones. Does that mean they should lose their jobs even though they might be good teachers?

A friend of mine teaches at a local middle school. She is a tenured teacher, driven and creative, but she has fit what this study would call "chronically absent" twice in the last five years. One of those years, her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. Then last year, she was burned in an accident in her home and missed over two weeks, returning to school even though she was still hurting. She is exactly the type of person we should be trying to keep in teaching. What should happen to her?

Another friend also missed the 10 days it would take to be chronically absent for this study. Three of those days were for a conference that the building principle wanted the teacher to attend. Two were due to a medical emergency in the person's family. The other five were due to a death in the family. The teacher didn't even take all of the time off he was contractually allowed because he wanted to get back to work. I told him he should take all the time allowed, but he said it wasn't fair to the students and sitting around the house wouldn't help anything, anyway. Should he be fired?

Now I am making assumptions regarding this thread, that YF is using this study for another attack on tenure and other protections in place for teachers. I apologize if I am wrong in that assumption, but I believe his posting history supports my assumption.