Millions of kids are still skipping school. Could the answer be recess — and a little cash?

MEDFORD, Massachusetts — Flerentin “Flex” Jean-Baptiste missed so much school that he had to repeat his freshman year at Medford High outside Boston. At school, “you do the same thing every day,” said Jean-Baptiste, who missed 30 days his freshman year. “It’s very frustrating.”

Then his principal did something almost unheard of: she allowed students to play organized sports during lunch — if they attended all of their classes. In other words, she offered high school students recess.

“It gave me something to look forward to,” said Jean-Baptiste, 16. The following year, he halved his absences. Schoolwide, the share of chronically absent students dropped from 35% in March 2023 to 23% in March 2024 — one of the largest declines among Massachusetts high schools.

Years after COVID-19 upended American education, nearly every state is still having trouble with attendanceaccording to data collected by The Associated Press and Stanford University economist Thomas Dee.

About one in four students in the 2022-23 school year was chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10% of the school year. That represents about 12 million children in the 42 states and Washington, D.C., where data are available.

Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed this much school.

Society may be largely past COVID, but schools say they are still grappling with its fallout school closures due to pandemic. After a year of being at home, school can feel overwhelming, boring, or socially stressful for many kids. More than ever, kids and parents are deciding it’s okay to stay home, making catching up even harder.

In all states except Arkansas, absenteeism rates are still higher than pre-pandemic levels, but the problem appears to be over. peak; in nearly every state, absenteeism decreased at least slightly from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023.

Schools are working to identify and then provide support for students with declining attendance. They are working to bridge communication gaps with parents, who are often unaware that their child is missing so much school or why it is problematic.

So far, the solutions that help seem simple — like sending postcards to parents comparing a child’s attendance to that of peers. But to make more progress, experts say, schools will have to get creative in meeting the needs of their students.

At district and charter schools in Oakland, California, chronic absenteeism skyrocketed from 29% before the pandemic to 53% in 2022-23. The district asked students what would convince them to come to class.

Money, they replied, and a mentor.

A grant-funded program launched in spring 2023 paid 45 students $50 a week for perfect attendance. Students also checked in daily with an assigned adult and completed weekly mental health assessments.

According to Zaia Vera, the district’s director of social-emotional learning, paying students is not a permanent or sustainable solution.

But many absent students lack of stable housing or helped support their families. “The money is the hook that pulled them in,” Vera said.

More than 60 percent improved their attendance after participating, Vera said. The program is expected to continue, along with districtwide efforts aimed at creating a sense of belonging. Oakland’s African American Male Achievement project, for example, pairs black students with black teachers who provide support.

Children who identify with their educators are more likely to go to school, said Michael Gottfried, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. According to a study led by Gottfried, Students in California felt it was “important to see someone who looks like me early, first thing in the morning,” he said.

A caring teacher made all the difference for Golden Tachiquin, 18, who graduated this spring from Skyline High School in Oakland. When she entered 10th grade after a first year of remote learning, she felt lost and anxious. She later realized that these feelings were causing the nausea and dizziness that kept her home sick. She was absent for at least 25 days that year.

She bonded with an Afro-Latina teacher who understood her culturally and made Tachiquin, a student with only A’s, feel like her poor attendance did not define her.

“I didn’t dread going to her class,” Tachiquin said.

Another teacher had the opposite effect. “She’d say, ‘Wow, guess who decided to come today?'” Tachiquin recalled. “I started skipping her classes even more.”

In Massachusetts, the Medford High School board requires students to greet and talk to them every morning, especially those who have been absent for a long time.

But the lunchtime gym classes have been the biggest driver of improved attendance, said principal Marta Cabral. High school students need freedom and a chance to move, she said. “They’re here seven hours a day. They should have some fun.”

Chronically absent students are at greater risk of illiteracy and finally drop out. They also miss the meals, accompaniment and socialization at school.

Many of the reasons children missed school early in the pandemic are still relevant today: financial problems, transport problems, mild illness And mental health conflict.

In Alaska, 45 percent of students missed a major school last year. In Amy Lloyd’s Juneau high school classes, some families now consider attendance optional. Last semester, several of her English students missed school for vacations.

“I don’t really know how to adjust the expectations that were squashed when we were in front of the computer,” Lloyd said.

Emotional and behavioral problems have also prevented children from attending school. Research exclusively shared with AP found that absenteeism and poor mental health “are interrelated,” said Morgan Polikoff, a professor at the University of Southern California.

For example, a survey of USC parents found that nearly a quarter of chronically absent children had high levels of emotional or behavioral problems, compared to only 7% of children who attended well. Emotional symptoms in teenage girls were mainly associated with missing a lot of school.

When chronic absenteeism in Fresno, California, rose to about 50%, officials realized they had to change the pandemic-era mindset. keep sick children at home.

“Unless your student has a fever or has vomited in the last 24 hours, please come to school. That’s what we want,” said Abigail Arii, director of student support services.

Often, parents are unaware that physical symptoms can indicate mental health issues, says Noreida Perez, who monitors child attendance, such as when a child is afraid to leave his or her bedroom.

More than a dozen states now let students take mental health days as excused absences. But staying home can become a vicious cycle, said Hedy Chang of Attendance Works, which works with schools on absences.

“When you stay home from school, you feel more disconnected,” she said. “You fall further and further behind.”

Changing the culture around sick days is only part of the problem.

At Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno, where half the students were chronically absent, two reasons kept coming up: dirty laundry and no transportation. The school purchased a washer and dryer for families, along with a Chevy Suburban to pick up students who missed the bus. Overall, Fresno’s chronic absenteeism improved to 35% in 2022-23.

Melinda Gonzalez, 14, would miss the school bus about once a week and ask for a ride in the Suburban.

“I don’t have a car; my parents couldn’t take me to school,” Gonzalez said. “That ride made a big difference.”

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Becky Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

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