DAYTON, Ohio-Chronic absenteeism in Ohio schools remains high, with 25.6% of students missing 10% or more of school days in the 2023-2024 year, down slightly from 26.8% the previous year but significantly higher than the 16.7% rate in 2018-2019. This equates to over 400,000 students chronically absent, attributed to habits formed during the pandemic and increased parental hesitance to send sick children to school. While digital charter schools reported lower absenteeism rates, traditional public schools like Cedar Cliff had the lowest at 7.8%, and Northridge faced the highest at 48.3%. Northridge’s superintendent emphasized that high absenteeism hampers academic progress, despite improvements in curriculum and graduation rates. Dayton Public Schools also saw a slight decrease in absenteeism, with plans to engage the community on the importance of attendance.
