DETROIT (WXYZ) — Chronic absenteeism has once again become a growing problem across Michigan with students missing 10% or more of school days due to absence for any reason.
For proud Detroiter Rev. Larry Simmons it's heartbreaking for the 76-year-old who believes education is the key to solving future problems.
"All the things we think of the American dreams, unless you happen to 7 feet tall and got a really good jump shot, or you 250lbs and can really fast, your best hope of that life is in that building right there," Rev. Simmons said when referring to a nearby school.
He noticed the chronic absence problem 11 years ago when he saw kids playing outside his church during school days.
"They are less likely to graduate on time. They are more likely to be in trouble in school. They are more likely to go to prison. They're less likely to have a career," Simmons said.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, nationwide over 7 million students missed 15 or more days of school during the 2015-16 school year. That's about 1 in 6 students.
Here in Michigan, data from the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection shows that in the 2017-18 school year Detroit's chronic absenteeism was the highest compared to other school districts of similar size. And at present, the problem got worse during the pandemic.
"It peaked maybe a year ago, and maybe it started to go down, but we are still at a higher rate 10 years ago," said Simmons.
That's why Simmons founded Every School Day Counts Detroit, a coalition of community organizations and schools across the city focused on chronic absenteeism — addressing challenges like asthma, transportation, parental work, and school schedule conflict.
"There are no simple solutions to this today, but among the things they can do, parents can form carpools, they can form what I call walking buses, where the kids gather together, and a parent or two walks them to school. They can organize their families, so they can share resources," said Simmons.
These are some of the many programs Every School Day Counts Detroit has launched at three Detroit schools so far.
Meanwhile, even though data shows students of different races and ethnicities experience chronic absenteeism at different rates, Simmons believes the root cause is poverty.
"We need to stop looking at it as a racially centered problem, but as an economically centered problem. Reach not just the urban areas but the rural areas and talk about solving the whole thing," said Simmons.
To learn more about Every School Day Counts Detroit, head here.
