How This School District Cut Chronic Absenteeism 40% with Naomi Tolentino Miranda

Learn how this school district cut chronic absenteeism by 40% through community outreach and building connectedness. Find out the attendance solutions they implemented to make a positive impact on school attendance.

In this powerful final episode, Naomi Tolentino Miranda, Coordinator of Student Support Programs with Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, shares how to shift from punitive to proactive approaches when addressing chronic absenteeism - a crisis affecting 1 in 4 students nationwide.

Naomi shares research-backed strategies for understanding the "why" behind each student's absence and building school connectedness through trauma-informed practices. Learn how creating welcoming school environments empowers families to share their challenges and collaborate on personalized solutions.

This conversation reveals why data isn't something to fear but a powerful tool that helps identify hidden patterns and tailor interventions for different communities. Naomi explains how her innovative attendance dashboard transformed her district's approach, moving beyond average daily attendance to address the deeper issues of chronic absenteeism.

Whether you're an educator, administrator, or caregiver, you'll gain actionable insights to help every student feel connected, supported, and motivated to attend school.

💫Episode mentions

•  Attend to Achieve
• One Leader’s Plan to Cut Chronic Absenteeism—One Student at a Time
• Attendance Works - Hedy Chan
  • Reporting on Chronic Absence
  • Chronic Absence Research and Graphics
• Dr. Robert (Bob) Balfanz
  • Centering School Connectedness 
  • JHU School of Education 
  • Center for Educational Policy Research at Harvard University
• Calculating a Student’s Daily Attendance

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview 

01:00 Meet Naomi Tolentino Miranda 

02:58 Key Research and Researchers on Absenteeism 

05:44 Defining Chronic Absenteeism: Beyond Truancy 

08:39 Student Barriers Across Grade Levels 

11:42 Moving from Punitive to Proactive Approaches 

13:26 The Importance of Finding the "Why" 

16:58 Individualizing Solutions for Student Needs 

19:12 Creating Welcoming Spaces for Parents

22:03 Empowering Parent Voice 

23:55 The Power of Data: Creating an Attendance Dashboard 

27:30 Why Data Should Be a Tool, Not a Threat 

29:33 Final Thoughts: Every Student Has Different Needs 

31:08 Episode Wrap-Up

#ChronicAbsenteeism #TraumaInformedEducation #SchoolAttendance #EducationReform #StudentSuccess #DataDrivenEducation #SchoolConnectedness #ParentEmpowerment #EducatorResources #EveryStudentMatters

When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, they create schools where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged, supported, and ready to thrive.