Neighborly care for absentee students

What are neighbors for? New York City is about to provide one answer: They’re to help the children of other neighbors not play hooky.

Last week, the largest school system in the United States announced it will enlist 1,600 volunteer parents to contact other parents in their communities whose children – about 300,000 in all – are chronically absent from school.

These “family connectors” are the latest innovation by American educators trying to curb a high rate of student absenteeism that has persisted since the pandemic – and that can be costly. A Stanford University study last year found the learning loss for students not in class during the pandemic is 5% to 6% of their lifetime earnings, or $31 trillion from the nation’s gross domestic product.

“We need to ask the question; ‘Parents, what is keeping your children from getting to school and how can we help you?’” said Melissa Aviles-Ramos, leader of the Big Apple’s public schools.

The fact that the volunteers are local and unpaid – and not formally tied to government – is a way to tap into neighborly trust. That approach is far different from sending a truancy officer to a home to make threats. These parent leaders can then link up a family to either city or nonprofit services – such as child care, safe transportation, and mental health counseling – to overcome barriers to a child attending school.

Such a method is anchored in an assumption that parents really do care about their children’s future. “Our parent leaders are our best partners to make sure we give our parents everything they need so our babies can get to school every single day,” said Ms. Aviles-Ramos.

Engaging families with care and concern – such as teachers making home visits – does make a difference. One study found that schools that scored high on family involvement before the pandemic have seen far less absenteeism. Now New York wants to step up that care and concern by enlisting neighbors – who care about their neighbors.