America there is a problem! According to recent Federal data released over the summer 1 in 4 American teachers miss more than 10 days each school year. If you break that down that is roughly 27% of United States full time teacher are chronically absent each year!
Why do schools allow for and retain teachers that are chronically absent? The high demands put forth on teachers today requires them to use all academic time to ensure their students are fully prepared for the rigors that have been set forth with the new age of standards and state assessments.
Some of the high offenders come out of districts such as Cleveland, Ohio. Reports in that city note 84% of their teachers are chronically absent. In Clark County Nevada district reports show around 50% of teachers following the same pattern of absenteeism.
The nation seems to be focused on chronic student absences. However, there is a real problem when students have substitutes for 10-15 plus days out of any given school year. The trend is unacceptable. Teachers need to be held accountable for setting the example for students. How can a teacher or school justify lecturing a student on being chronically absent when the teacher is chronically absent?. It sets a very bad precedent.
Personally, I would like to see a comparison of teacher absences to that of students in the same classroom. I have a feeling you will see a pattern showing in classrooms where the teacher is chronically absent; there is higher rate of chronic absences from the students!
Data is available showing student achievement lower in classrooms where the teacher is frequently absent as compared to where the teacher has a low absentee rate. In my mind this makes perfect sense. I have been a substitute teacher. Yes I tried to replace the teacher and do the best I could. The underlying factor is the regular classroom teacher knows the students, and is better prepared to seek out and accommodate the needs of the students.
The problem of chronic teacher absenteeism needs to be addressed. I know that teachers are now under more stress than in the past. A school can’t correct chronic student absences until they address the underlying problem of their teachers not showing up for work. There are many factors that lead to teachers being absent. There is no excuse to miss 10 plus days a year! Schools need to take a look at their chronic teacher absentee numbers, figure out the root of the problem and fix it asap!
* Thoughts expressed in this blog are of my own and in no way reflect the views and stance of Lumos Learning.
