Executive Summary

Chronic absenteeism—missing 10% or more of school for any reason—is an ongoing challenge facing Latino kindergarteners and their families across California. In the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), rates have steadily declined since the height of the pandemic. Yet, as of the 2023-24 school year, nearly 1 out of every 3 Latino kindergarteners (including transitional kindergarteners) in the district were chronically absent.¹ Reducing early chronic absenteeism is critical given its negative consequences on children’s early literacy and future educational success.

Both LAUSD and Families In Schools (FIS) have elevated third grade reading proficiency as a top priority in their respective strategic plans. For young students to be on track, reducing chronic absence is urgent and essential. To this end, FIS gathered and analyzed insights and expertise from those who know children and their attendance the best—their parents and caregivers. Through focus groups conducted in April and May of 2024 across 8 school sites in LAUSD, FIS gathered perspectives from 48 Latino parents and caregivers about what is working well to support their kindergarteners’ attendance, and what challenges they face. These focus groups were part of a larger statewide initiative, known as Keep Learning California (KLC), to understand and address the root causes of chronic absenteeism among the State’s youngest learners.

Based on our focus groups in LAUSD, FIS identified a core set of strengths and challenges parents noted about themselves and their schools in supporting attendance alongside recommendations drawn from their insights:

Families are critical partners in reducing chronic absence. By listening to them, we can better understand the challenges, realities, and strengths that impact their children’s attendance in school.

In this process, what we heard is that families are deeply committed to their children’s education; they understand that daily attendance is important. We learned that the root causes of chronic absence are systemic in nature and require schools and others to make policy and programmatic changes that leverage parent’s strengths and address challenges to ensure that their young children are in school every day.

Introduction

Chronic absence among Latino kindergarteners (including transitional kindergarteners) in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) rose dramatically after in-person learning resumed in the wake of the COVID pandemic, nearly doubling from 25% in 2018-19 to 52% in the 2021-22 school year.² While chronic absence rates decreased to about 33% in the 2023-24 school year, further reducing chronic absence is urgently needed given the negative impacts of absenteeism on children’s early literacy and future educational success. Promoting regular attendance ensures that children can fully benefit from investments to boost instruction that can help them recover from learning setbacks caused by the pandemic.

The trend in kindergarten chronic absences among Latinos is not unique to LAUSD. Statewide, rates peaked in 2021-22 at 48% and, as of 2023-24, have declined to about 31%.³ In order to tackle chronic absences among Latino kindergarteners, Keep Learning California (KLC)—a partnership between Attendance Works, Families In Schools (FIS), and Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)—sought to deepen understanding of families’ experiences with absenteeism and attendance. Families are a critical partner in reducing chronic absence; solving high rates of chronic absence requires an in-depth understanding of families’ challenges, realities, and strengths.

This report focuses on what FIS learned from Latino parents in LAUSD, one of the three regions of this project. Other regions included the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

Keep Learning California (KLC) Collaborative Partner Organizations

Families In Schools (FIS) is a capacity-building, leadership, and advocacy organization that works to ensure families are involved at every level of educational change and opportunity for their children. FIS views addressing chronic absence in kindergarten as a critical component of closing the disturbing early literacy gaps for children living in poverty, English learners, and children of color.

Attendance Works is widely recognized as the country’s go-to resource for attendance policy and practice. With a proven track record at the local, state, and national level, Attendance Works advances better policy, nurtures proven and promising practice, promotes meaningful and effective communication, and catalyzes needed research.

Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) is a national social justice and educational equity organization serving evidence-based family engagement and empowerment models with profound impact across California. Through a linguistically and culturally responsive model, it supports low-income families, communities of color, English learner, and immigrant families with information, skills, and support systems so that they can meaningfully engage in their children’s education.

Consequences of Chronic Absence for Latino Kindergarteners’ Success

The ongoing attendance crisis threatens the well-being and success of students. Developing a regular routine of attendance, starting in preschool and kindergarten, is essential to early school success. Students chronically absent in kindergarten are more likely to be chronically absent in later grades and much less likely to read and count proficiently by the end of third grade.¹ Research shows that the academic performance of English learners is especially impacted.^4,5,6 Equally important, chronic absence is associated with declines in educational engagement, social-emotional development, and
executive functioning.^7,8

Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds experience some of the most severe consequences of chronic absenteeism as they typically have less access to resources that could help them overcome lost learning opportunities.⁹ Chronic absence also signals broader, systemic challenges some of which are experienced by families, like struggles with poverty, unstable housing, and lack of access to health care, while others are experienced by children, such as mental health challenges, which can negatively impact classroom learning and engagement.¹⁰

LAUSD iAttend Initiative

The District is committed to reducing chronic absenteeism by implementing strategies as outlined in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. As part of this work, LAUSD introduced the iAttend initiative, a comprehensive multi-tiered approach implemented across all district levels to support student attendance.

LAUSD’s iAttend initiative aims to reduce chronic absenteeism and understand its root causes by leveraging ongoing data analysis to drive decision-making. Through a team-oriented approach, the district coordinates multiple tiers, strategies, and tools, using real-time attendance trends to identify needs, successes, and determine next steps to reduce absenteeism district wide.

iAttend calls for the implementation of 7 elements to improve student attendance that includes:

iAttend offers a robust set of resources for both families and schools. Parents have access to guides, trackers, and templates to support daily attendance and clear communication with schools. Schools use data-driven tools to monitor attendance, engage families, and connect students with effective interventions and community resources—all aligned to proven strategies for keeping students engaged and in school.

Key Findings

Families In Schools (FIS) gathered and analyzed insights and expertise from those who know students and their attendance the best—their parents and caregivers. Across 8 school sites in LAUSD, FIS held focus groups that included 48 parents and caregivers of Latino kindergarteners. FIS asked them about what they, as parents and caregivers, and their schools were doing well to support attendance. FIS also asked them about the challenges they faced in getting their children to school. Participants identified a common set of strengths and challenges that can inform recommendations for solving the district’s chronic absence problem and inform KLC’s statewide strategy to curb chronic absenteeism.

Data and Methodology

Within LAUSD, FIS selected 8 sites with varying levels of chronic absenteeism among Latino kindergarteners that ranged from 25% to 62% during the 2022-23 school year. Focus groups were conducted between April and May 2024. Each lasted between 60 to 75 minutes and included an average of 5-13 participants. Groups were conducted in English as well as Spanish and, when needed, FIS used dedicated translators and translation devices. A detailed focus group protocol was developed that included a range of questions about the strengths and challenges families face when supporting their children’s attendance.

The strength of the focus group approach is that it allowed parents to openly share their lived experiences with attendance and absenteeism across LAUSD. FIS was able to tap into the collective experiences and insights of parents and caregivers at a range of school sites with varying levels of chronic absenteeism; this allowed us to understand strengths and challenges at schools with low, mid, and high levels of chronic absenteeism. In conducting focus groups, parents had varying levels of understanding of chronic absenteeism and their children had different levels of attendance. Although FIS aimed to have a consistent number of participants for each group, due to limited recruitment time, the groups varied in size, ranging between 5-13 parents, on average.

Detailed notes were taken during the focus groups and thematically coded and organized. Responses were categorized and coded for prevalence across sites. Given that the focus groups included a self-selected group of 48 parents across 8 sites, the findings in this report do not necessarily reflect the experiences of all Latino parents in all schools across LAUSD.

Strengths to Promote Attendance

Parents and caregivers identified several strengths they are leveraging to support their children’s attendance. These include strengths that as a family they possess, alongside the strengths of their children’s schools.

Family Strengths

Commitment to Education and Attendance. Parents and caregivers shared their strong commitment to their children’s education, often engaging various family members in taking their children to school. This dedication reflects the importance families place on supporting their children’s education even in the face of significant barriers. Several parents reported feeling a strong sense of responsibility for managing various aspects of their children’s lives, including illness, transportation, and daily routines. “It’s important to talk to them about the love of school—when we do things with love, it’s not hard,” shared a Los Angeles parent.

“It’s important to talk to them about the love of school—when we do things with love, it’s not hard.”

Daily Routines to Support Attendance. Many families established daily routines, including early bedtimes to ensure that their students arrived at school on time. Importantly, parents attribute those routines to good attendance with one parent noting, “My student hasn’t been absent because she has a routine and follows it. She’s the one that wants to come to school.”

Supportive Interactions with Schools. Parents reported varying levels of involvement and connection to schools. Some noted that strong relationships between teachers, students, and families were crucial for building trust and enhancing engagement, with some parents noting key staff at sites who helped them navigate information.

School Strengths

Consistent and Clear School Messaging About Attendance. Parents and caregivers across all sites reported receiving messages, texts, and calls for updates from the school with attendance information. In particular, several parents appreciated the ease of communication and the personalized communication efforts from the school, with one parent noting, “Communication is easy for all of the parents. Individual calls, and even at the door, they are greeting and reminding you.”

Positive School Environments. Several parents and caregivers shared they were satisfied with the school environment and staff, with many of them naming staff by name and role. Those who felt more familiar with staff and school procedures reported a better understanding of attendance policies, how to excuse absences, and who to ask for support on campus. One parent commented on the quality and immediacy of the communication they receive, noting: “The communication is really good. If anything happens, they communicate right away.”

“The communication is really good. If anything happens, they communicate right away.”

Supportive and Empathetic Teachers. A number of parents and caregivers expressed appreciation for the support provided by teachers, including intervention, extra help, and clear communication about attendance. One parent expressed the willingness of their teacher to provide help and how that impacted their child’s experience: “Whenever you need help, someone will help you. As a mom, her teacher is great. So my child has had a wonderful year here.”

Several of them felt supported by teachers after their child missed school and felt that teachers empathized with families.

Challenges in Supporting Attendance

Parents and caregivers also identified challenges in supporting their children’s attendance, including challenges they as a family face, alongside those related to their children’s schools.

Challenges Facing Parents

Absences Due to Health and Illness. Most families reported absences related to illnesses and chronic health conditions. However, parents shared that they do not see illness-related absences as connected to chronic absenteeism. Some parents were unclear about what constitutes an excused absence and the repercussions of chronic absenteeism. One parent expressed the need for the district to do a better job of explaining chronic absenteeism: “I wish the school or district would do a better job explaining what it means to be chronically absent. It’s not clear to me, and I think many other parents are in the same boat. If attendance is really that important, they should have a day dedicated just to explaining this to kindergarten parents, instead of just expecting us to know the rules. We need to understand what happens if our kids miss too many days.”

“I wish the school or district would do a better job explaining what it means to be chronically absent. It’s not clear to me, and I think many other parents are in the same boat.”

Transitions & Social Emotional Needs of Children. Parents expressed concerns over the social emotional needs of their young children, highlighting that their children were having difficulties adjusting to the transition from preschool to kindergarten and abrupt schedule changes for children. One parent directly attributed attendance and tardies to the lack of emotional preparation for kindergarten: “Some kids aren’t emotionally prepared for the transition to kindergarten, which affects their attendance and tardiness.” Another parent suggested that schools should offer more grace for kindergarten students struggling to adjust to the new schedule, as “some children aren’t emotionally prepared for the kinder schedule change.”

“Some kids aren’t emotionally prepared for the transition to kindergarten, which affects their attendance and tardiness.”

Challenges Facing Schools

Family Engagement. Some parents noted that the lack of inclusive engagement results in only a small number of parents and caregivers being actively involved at school sites. Overall, parents shared that engagement remains low, which may contribute to difficulties in fostering a supportive and collaborative school environment. Parents expressed wanting more opportunities to be involved on campus and requested for more parent-focused resources to be shared. While many parents expressed the desire to be involved in school activities, some encountered barriers. One parent recounted their frustration with the volunteer application process, where their application was lost despite completing all necessary steps.

Communication Barriers. Some parents expressed concerns about the way staff interact with students, stressing that “students should be listened to and the situation parents are in should be considered.” Parents also noted significant barriers to parental engagement, particularly among Latino families. Obstacles they identified include: language barriers, technological limitations, and a lack of comfort or knowledge in using digital tools such as parent web portals or apps. These barriers hamper parents’ ability to fully engage with schools, leading to challenges in effectively addressing attendance issues and responding to parent questions.

Attendance Policies. Across various sites, families expressed a need for clear communication on attendance policies and more frequent communication on the importance of consistent attendance, both at the district level and within individual schools. Parents were unclear of what constitutes an excused absence and the repercussions of chronic absenteeism. Most families reported absences related to illnesses and chronic health conditions. However, parents do not correlate illness related absences with chronic absenteeism. Most parents report receiving information broadly at the start of the year, but not much communication thereafter.

Teacher-Student Relationships. Some parents shared that their children did not have a positive relationship with their teachers, and this affected their attendance. One parent shared how switching teachers helped her daughter’s attendance: “My daughter is ready to go to school, but if she is having a hard time with the teacher, she doesn’t want to come. The school switched my daughter’s teacher because my daughter didn’t want to come, and with the switch, she is really excited to come to school.”

Recommendations

Based on the strengths and challenges that parents identified, FIS recommends the following actions to improve Latino kindergarteners’ attendance in LAUSD:

1. Increase Chronic-Absence Awareness and Knowledge. Build on parents’ commitment to education and empower them with knowledge and resources to support their child’s attendance and academic success. Parents are often one of the best support systems for each other, so offer engaging and interactive workshops, seminars, or informational sessions where they can share strategies with each other for promoting regular attendance via daily routines as well as making sense of and navigating attendance policies and procedures.
2. Strengthen Family Engagement and Parent-Teacher Relationships. Beyond offering parent/ caregiver workshops and webinars, build a culture where families feel welcomed, included, and engaged by educators as equal partners with a focus on differentiation to acknowledge that families have varied capacity to engage. Research shows that when families are authentically engaged as equal partners, they are more deeply invested in their children’s educational journey.¹¹ Provide teachers with training and support to build and sustain positive, trusting, relationships with parents and caregivers. Ensure that attendance-related concerns are communicated and addressed using proactive and problem solving approaches versus deficit-based or punitive approaches.
3. Address Teacher/Child Interactions and Social-Emotional Needs of Children. Recognize and address the social emotional needs of young children as they transition into kindergarten. Consider grace periods of arrival times as children adjust to their new school schedule. In addition, ensure positive relationships between young children and their teachers.
4. Support for Health-Related Absences. Support parents in managing health-and illness-related issues. Clarify and reinforce existing school policies about when to send children to school if they are sick. Amplify the role of the school nurse in this effort.
5. Underscore the Importance of Kindergarten and Provide Early Intervention. Reinforce parents’ understanding of kindergarten’s importance in their child’s education and development. Importantly, help parents understand that learning to read begins in these early grades, where they are exposed to early literacy skills. Implement early intervention strategies in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) to address attendance issues that generally have the highest peaks in kindergarten. Support parents in planning for changes to routines and schedules between preschool/TK and kindergarten.
6. Ensure Communication About Attendance is Accessible. Implement proactive communication strategies that reach parents through multiple channels, including text messages, emails, phone calls, and social media platforms, to ensure that parents are well- informed about attendance policies, upcoming events, and ways to support their child’s education. Provide information in languages spoken by the diverse communities served by the schools, ensuring that all parents can access and understand important messages related to attendance and school activities.
7. Build Community Partnerships to Address Systemic Barriers. Partner with local community organizations, nonprofits, and businesses to expand the reach of attendance campaigns and provide additional resources and support to families facing systemic challenges impacting regular attendance, such as housing and transportation. Collaborate with community organizations to address neighborhood safety concerns.

Current Attendance Strategies at LAUSD—and Gaps to Address

District leaders shared their responses to our recommendations and outlined current strategies related to each recommendation along with additional efforts to address gaps, as noted below.

Conclusion

Capturing parental perspectives about attendance and absenteeism is critical in solving the current absenteeism crisis. Based on our focus groups with 48 Latino parents in LAUSD, several insights emerged that can inform strategies for reducing chronic absenteeism in kindergarteners: leverage core strengths and their deep commitment to education; boost family engagement by strengthening their connections with schools; and reduce systemic barriers to attendance.

As noted previously, LAUSD has been making impressive progress in addressing chronic absence. Through its comprehensive iAttend Strategy, LAUSD has addressed several challenges parents identified as barriers and challenges to daily school attendance. Accelerating, intensifying, and targeting these and other strategies, especially for Latino families, can help improve Latino kindergarteners’ attendance so that children benefit from the teaching and learning that will equip them with strong early literacy skills and ensure their educational success.

Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without the parents, caregivers, and families who shared their time and experience with us. FIS also acknowledges and is grateful for the support of LAUSD, including district and school leaders, staff, and teachers at each of our school sites.

We also express our gratitude to Dr. Kevin Gee, for his careful review of the focus group data and ensuring that the findings—the voices of the 48 familie —were well captured in this report.

This work was supported by a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of LAUSD or the Heising-Simons Foundation.

References

1. CDE Dataquest.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Chang, H. N., & Romero, M. (2008). Present, Engaged, and Accounted for: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades. Report. National Center for Children in Poverty.
5. Ehrlich, S. B., Gwynne, J. A., Pareja, A. S., Allensworth, E. M., Moore, P. T., Jagesic, S., & Sorice, E. (2014). Preschool attendance in Chicago Public Schools: Relationships with learning outcomes and reasons for absences.
6. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.
7. University of Rhode Island. (2014). Chronic absenteeism among kindergarten students.
8. Gottfried, M. A. (2014). Chronic absenteeism and its effects on students’ academic and socioemotional outcomes. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 19(2), 53–75.
9. Gottfried, M., & Ansari, A. (2021). Detailing new dangers: Linking kindergarten chronic absenteeism to long-term declines in executive functioning. The Elementary School Journal, 121(3), 484–500.
10. Ready, D. D. (2010). Socioeconomic disadvantage, school attendance, and early cognitive development: The differential effects of school exposure. Sociology of Education, 83(4), 271–286.
11. Gottfried, M. A., & Gee, K. A. (2017). Identifying the determinants of chronic absenteeism: A bioecological systems approach. Teachers College Record, 119(7), 1–34.
12. Mapp, K. L., & Kuttner, P. J. (2013). Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships. SEDL.

The content that appears on this webpage is the same as the printed research brief, without the stock images. This report was originally published by Families in Schools.