To Get Attendance Rates Back Up, Colorado Schools May Need To Rethink Curriculum

Image created by Alexis Kenyon with help from Dall-E

3 years into the pandemic, school attendance rates are still at record lows across the country. In Colorado, according to the Department of Education, 1 in 3 students are chronically absent meaning they miss over 10% of school days. Chronic absenteeism across the state correlates with lower graduation rates, disciplinary problems, and lower test scores. Likewise, low attendance, for 9th graders in Colorado, is a better predictor of graduation rates than test scores.

KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Dr. Joshua Childs, an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas and a CU Boulder graduate about how school systems and educators are facing a reckoning.

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To Get Attendance Rates Back Up, Colorado Schools May Need To Rethink Curriculum Alexis Kenyon

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To Get Attendance Rates Back Up, Colorado Schools May Need To Rethink Curriculum Alexis Kenyon

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Alexis Kenyon

Alexis Kenyon is an experienced radio reporter with more than 15 years of experience creating compelling, sound-rich radio stories for news outlets across the country. Kenyon has master's degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism in radio broadcast and photojournalism. She has worked in KGNU's news department since 2021 as a reporter, editor, and daily news producer. In all her work, she strives to produce thought-provoking, trustworthy journalism that makes other people's stories feel personal. In addition to audio production, Kenyon runs KGNU's news internship program and oversees the department's digital engagement.