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Resources

Resources

Research

  • How are Michigan Schools Addressing Chronic Absenteeism?

    This report presents statewide evidence on Michigan schools’ attendance strategies using a representative 2024–25 survey of school leaders. It describes the practices, organizational systems, and staffing schools use to support attendance, how these approaches vary across contexts and over time, and lays the groundwork for future research on which strategies are most effective.

  • Identifying Effective Attendance Strategies in Michigan

    Michigan schools show consistent differences in how much they improve student attendance, but no single strategy explains those gains. Strong attendance outcomes come from coherent, well‑implemented systems that support students and address broader factors like school climate, relationships, and structural barriers.

  • Rethinking Absenteeism

    This work reframes chronic absenteeism as a symptom of broader social and economic inequities rather than a simple school accountability metric. Drawing on eight years of research in Detroit, it shows that school-based strategies alone struggle to improve attendance in high‑need contexts because the roots of absenteeism often lie beyond what schools can address.

  • School Diversity and Social Capital: Conditions That Foster Bridging Ties in Schools

    Cross‑class friendships among Detroit‑area high school students form primarily when schools create shared spaces—like extracurriculars and mixed‑schedule courses—that bring students from different backgrounds together. These structured “third spaces” help overcome social and residential divides, enabling meaningful bridging ties that support mobility and equity.

  • What are Michigan Schools Doing to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism?

    This brief highlights results from a statewide survey of Michigan school leaders, revealing how schools are approaching chronic absenteeism. The findings provide insight into the attendance strategies, systems, and responses schools are using across the state as they work to address rising absenteeism.

Attendance Organizations

Attendance Works           US Department of Education