Districts doing better at getting kids to school, but absenteeism still stubbornly high in Ohio

In some local districts, the rate of chronic absenteeism is close to 50%.

Chronic absenteeism is a measure of how much school students are missing and is defined by the U.S. Department of Education as missing 10%, or roughly 18 days, of the school year for any reason.

In the 2018-2019 school year, the statewide chronic absenteeism rate was 16.7%. It nearly doubled during the COVID pandemic and has slowly improved since to 25.1% in 2024-2025.

Eighteen school districts in Butler, Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties saw chronic absenteeism rates above 25% last year.

“We know that when students are chronically absent, they’re less likely to be proficient readers, they’re less likely to graduate,” said Chris Woolard, chief integration officer for ODEW.

ODEW has been partnering with local schools to get students to come to class, said Lacey Snoke, spokeswoman for the department.

Snoke said the department offers a wide range of tools to help local schools figure out how to improve chronic absenteeism.

Snoke said a change in Ohio law will help schools by implementing preventative strategies instead of notifying families when it’s already too late. The recommendation came from Ohio’s Attendance Task Force.

“This approach encourages families, schools, and students to collaborate early on, fostering regular attendance and addressing concerns before they escalate,” Snoke said. “We are optimistic about the impact this will have on the ability of schools and districts to shift time and resources to supporting regular attendance.”

Officials say the reasons for students missing so much school are complex, but some of the reasons include students staying home more often when they’re sick, parents pulling kids out to go on vacations and barriers to students getting to school, such as not having transportation to school or needing to take care of younger siblings.

The rate of chronic absenteeism through the grade levels looks like a “U”, Woolard said, meaning younger kids are missing more school than the upper elementary and middle-grade students, but high school students are out of class more often.

Districts see big improvements

Several of the districts that had a high rate of chronic absenteeism last year saw improvements to this school year. Those include Middletown, Northridge, Trotwood-Madison and Dayton.

Middletown and Clark-Shawnee, in Clark County, saw some of the greatest reductions in chronic absenteeism last school year. Middletown improved from 44.5% in 2023-2024 to 35.9% in 2024-2025.

“When our students show up, they rise up,” said Middletown superintendent Debbie Houser. “Attendance is the foundation of success in life.”

Houser said the district partnered with the Stay in the Game Foundation, which connects professional sports to schools and promotes attendance.

Credit: Apple Photos Clean Up

Credit: Apple Photos Clean Up

Clark-Shawnee’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped nearly 10 points, from 23.5% to 13.9%. The district’s superintendent, Brian Kuhn, said the district implemented a program to track student attendance and notify families if there was an issue, as well as offering extra services and support for families who are navigating challenges at home and offering rewards for good attendance.

“We know that students learn best when they are present in school, and we appreciate the support of our parents as we work to increase student learning and engagement through regular school attendance,” Kuhn said.

Districts with highest rates

Northridge Schools, north of Dayton, had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism both this year and last year in the region. But the district also saw the problem significantly improve, with chronic absenteeism falling from 48.3% in 2023-2024 to 47.1% last school year.

Northridge superintendent Dave Jackson said there are several ways that the district is addressing the problem. Northridge joined the Stay in the Game network, added career technical programs that gave students more opportunities, is tying attendance to participating in sports and dances, is training staff on ways to improve attendance, and established an attendance-focused committee/task force.

“We also have added Thursday school and Saturday school as incentives to arrive on time, every day ... or time is owed at one of these after school or weekend settings,” Jackson said in an email.

Trotwood-Madison, one of the districts with a higher rate of chronic absenteeism, also saw an improvement, from 46.7% in 2023-2024 to 45.8% last school year.

Trotwood superintendent Marlon Howard said the district is implementing new initiatives, like Every Minute Matters, that emphasize attending every day. The effort also includes posters, videos about attendance, and an end-of-year raffle of prizes for students with strong attendance records.

“We know that with attendance comes achievement,” Howard said. “Missing school means missing opportunities. That’s why we are so focused on reducing chronic absenteeism, to create opportunities for our kids, open doors to bright futures, and move closer to our goal of 100% student success.”

District saw absenteeism increase

Franklin City Schools was one of the few districts that saw an increase in chronic absenteeism last year. The district’s rate of chronic absenteeism increased from 17.7% in 2023-2024 to 25.9% in 2024-2025.

Michael Sander, Franklin’s superintendent, said the district is investigating why the rate went up so much last year and has already made it a priority to improve attendance.

“Our families struggling with chronic absenteeism face unique challenges and addressing these involve close and continuous collaboration between our school teams and the families,” Sander said.

Sander said the district has already implemented some changes and seen positive results. For example, the high school’s overall attendance rate has increased five percentage points over this time last year, he said.