Assistant Professor Jerome Graham of Michigan State University's College of Education will examine the relationship between chronic absenteeism and student well-being across Georgia with a $450,000 grant. Supported by the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s Evidence Project and funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the study will address two interrelated challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: worsening student well-being and rising absenteeism.

Research shows chronic absenteeism rates in Georgia K-12 schools nearly doubled between the 2018–19 and 2021–22 school years, rising to nearly 25%. The rate improved by less than 2% during the 2022-23 school year. The researchers seek to understand the impact of post-pandemic absenteeism on students and to identify and help stakeholders develop effective strategies to address the issue.

“There’s a lot of research on the drivers of absenteeism and student well-being separately, but fewer scholars have looked at whether these challenges are related, particularly since the pandemic,” said Graham.