On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alia Wong of USA Today joins Mike and David to discuss what’s causing chronic absenteeism and ways to fix it. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber discusses a California study that investigates the extent to which a small group of teachers exacerbates racial gaps in school discipline.

Recommended content:

• “Showing up to school was hard amid COVID. Why aren’t kids (or teachers) returning to class?” — Alia Wong
• “When students feel unsafe, absenteeism grows” —Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. and Christian Eggers
• “Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism” —Jing Liu
• “3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren't showing up to school” —NPR 
• The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jing Liu, Emily K. Penner and Wenjing Gao, Troublemakers? The Role of Frequent Teacher Referrers in Expanding Racial Disciplinary Disproportionalities, American Educational Research Association (June 2023)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Jeanette Luna at [email protected].