District 212 Superintendent Nick Polyak is among 200 superintendents nationwide who have joined the “Missing School Matters: Superintendents Call to Action Campaign.”

According to Attendance Works, as many as 7.5 million students nationwide miss nearly a month of school every year. Data indicates that excused and unexcused absences erode student achievement, and that missing as few as two days a month can hinder a student’s academic success.

Polyak notes that Leyden has outstanding programs and support systems for students with chronic absenteeism, but they need to be in school to access them.

“Truancy and absenteeism are often signs of additional social and emotional issues students are dealing with,” Polyak said. “At Leyden, we are working to address the root causes of absences. Rather than punishing students for chronic absenteeism, we are working to find ways to support school attendance so our students can reach their full potential.”

According to Hedy Chang, executive director at Attendance Works, participating districts have launched the new school year with a commitment to make student attendance a top priority in every district, a proposal that includes superintendents, teachers, staff, parents and the community.

The idea is to make student attendance a broadly owned and widely shared civic priority.

“The growing support of local superintendents is a major factor in generating increased attention to chronic absence throughout the United States,” Chang says.

“Our goal is to ensure that every district in the country tracks chronic absence data and partners with family and community agencies to intervene when attendance is a problem for students or particular school districts.”