N.L. students are missing 'staggering' amount of school, and it's time to take action: report

With thousands of children in Newfoundland and Labrador missing class in "staggering" amounts each year, the province's Office of theChild and Youth Advocate has released a new report examining the issue, one thatcalls for collective action from government departments, schools and communities.

Chronic Absenteeism: When Children Disappear, released Thursday, shines a spotlight on what it terms "a quiet problem": many studentsare missing 10 per cent or more of the school year, and the province is currently not effectively addressing the problem.

"All of the officials that we talked tosaid throughout the province, at all grade levels, there is great concern about thenumberof students who are not showing up for class on a regular basis,"Jackie Lake Kavanagh, the child and youth advocate.

"Theydon'tknow where thechildrenare.Theydon'tknowwhat'sgoing on with them."

Statistics from the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District state that 10 per cent of the provincial student body some 6,600 children missed at least 18 days, or 10 per cent, ofthe 2016-17 school year.

"Those numbers are staggering," saidKavanagh.

Not just a school problem

While thosenumbers clearly signify chronic absenteeism as a problem, further data on the issue is largelyhard to find in Canada, said the report.

Similarly, identifying the root causes of chronic absenteeism is noteasy.

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"Typically this is identified as a school problem:The schools need to work harder to get children in their desks in the morning," said Kavanagh. That attitude, on its own, oversimplifies the issue, she added.

The report divides the numerous absenteeism factors into fourareas, which can overlap: student, family,school and communities.

For example, astudent may face mental health or behavioural issues that make themmiss class.Likewise, a parent's mental health issues or abusive behaviour can also contribute, or there could be bullies at school, or a combination of all these factors or more could be at play.

Affecting all grades

No matter the influencing factors, theresults are troubling.

"Chronic absenteeism is a stronger predictor of dropouts than low grades," said Kavanagh, citingthe report's findingthat 75 per cent ofGrade 6 students who chronically miss class will not go on to graduate.

The report also cites the increasing prevalence of "age creep"; school district officials used to be concerned chronic absenteeism "was once mainly an issue in high school, but now is also prevalent in primary and elementary grades."

There is enough information to act. Government doesn't need to keep researching this forever.- Jackie Lake Kavanagh

These trends have staff within the school system concerned, said the report, citing a "major frustration" with the lack of assistance from other programs or government bodies, such as the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development, or the Department of Health.

Solutions need to be collaborative, said Kavanagh.

"It can't just focus on what the school system is going to do. It's the school system, in conjunction with health-care services, and child-protection services, and the community as well," she told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.

'More evidence, more knowledge'

Sheldon Pollett, executive director of non-profit agency Choices for Youth, said he's pleased with the report and the advocate's work to draw attention to the complexity of chronic absenteeism.

"It adds more evidence, more knowledge around some of the things happening in our schools, but it's connected to so many other issues that young people in our province face around mental health, around addiction, around family breakdown, childhood trauma, all of these things," he said.

"I think we're well past the notion that what's happening in schools is just about schools."

Pollett said the issues many chronically absentchildren facecan push school to the back burner.

"There's things going on in their lives that are impacting their basic needs to a point where school is actually not their priority," he said,

"Even at a young age, whether they're aware of that or not, things happening in their lives are affecting their ability to engage in the school system."

At Choices for Youth, Pollett said, he often hears from young people that they want to go to school, but it takes time and support to be engaged in the process of learning.

He said it's important thatvulnerable families get increased support, in tandem withmore social and emotional learning in schools.

Time to act

While the report paints a dire picture of children falling through cracks and chasms in the system, it also does detail solutions, andKavanagh sees a silver lining in the report's research.

"We've laid out a number of criteria for effective responses, and we've identified actual programs that have been implemented in other places," she said.

"There is enough information to act. Government doesn't need to keepresearching this forever."

The report recommends the school districts and various branches of government come together and develop an action plan to combat chronic absenteeism, and gives the provincial government a one-year deadline for that plan.

"Any further delay to address this issue is not an option," the report states.

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