EDITORIAL

Answers needed on student/teacher absenteeism

Posted 1/23/20

It's hard to argue with the notion that teachers and students both need to show up to class in order for a quality educational environment to be established. With this in mind, it is consistently troubling to review numbers that emerge year to year

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EDITORIAL

Answers needed on student/teacher absenteeism

Posted

It’s hard to argue with the notion that teachers and students both need to show up to class in order for a quality educational environment to be established.

With this in mind, it is consistently troubling to review numbers that emerge year to year showing high levels of chronic absenteeism – meaning missing 18 days of a 180-day school year – for both teachers and students across the district in Warwick.

During the 2018-19 school year, student chronic absenteeism ranged from 7.6 percent at its best to 29.9 percent at its worst. Nearly a third of all Pilgrim High School students were chronically absent last year, while about a quarter (25.9 percent) of their Toll Gate rivals were chronically absent the same year.

Of the 865 total teachers in the district, 100 of them (11.6 percent) were chronically absent last year – a small jump from the 10.3 percent that were chronically absent last year. Teaching assistants, on the other hand, nearly doubled the rate of chronic absenteeism – going from 9.76 percent in 2017-18 to 18.27 percent this past year.

The largest cohort of teachers (about 47 percent) missed between 6-18 days of school, while 312 (36 percent) of teachers missed only five or fewer days the entire year. Of the district’s 29 school principals, zero were chronically absent and 28 of them missed five or fewer days.

All these numbers may serve as great fodder for whatever agenda you seek to serve – but we would like to use this most recent bout of absence reporting to ask the broader question: With the second highest rate of teacher absenteeism in Rhode Island, what needs to change in Warwick?

It must be noted that teachers in Warwick do not receive temporary disability insurance (TDI) if they become chronically ill or injured. This is the root of the oft-discussed 90 sick days provision that generates much back-and-forth within the community. The implications of this could be quite significant when it comes to analyzing teacher chronic absenteeism with integrity.

There is certainly a possibility that many teachers in Warwick wound up chronically absent because they suffered from a long-term illness, which required them to miss more than 18 days of work – regardless of whether or not they wanted to work. The key question here, then, is how many fit into that category? The numbers do not delve into these specifics, and we feel as though they should, in order to provide a clearer, more accurate picture about absenteeism in Warwick’s schools.

However, it must also be mentioned that teaching assistants – who do not have 90 sick days and are contractually specified to be included in the state’s TDI plan – also have a high rate of chronic absenteeism. Of the 208 TAs in the district, 38 missed 18 or more days.

With both of these facts in mind, the question must be asked – what else can we do as a district to prevent chronic absenteeism? Health complications racking up weeks’ worth of time out of the classroom – though it undoubtedly happens – cannot be used as a simple catch-all to explain why 138 educators out of over 1,000 in the district miss 10 percent of the school year, which the state Department of Education assures us will have a negative impact on students.

We should all want to get to the bottom of this question, not simply point fingers and assign blame. More in-depth study, beyond surface numbers, is needed to look into this situation and find out if the district can be doing more to prevent chronic absenteeism. Should we be investing more in preventative health services? Should the administration hold a firm stance during the next round of negotiations with the Warwick Teachers’ Union about going away from the 90-day formula to one where teachers get a more structured protection against long-term illness through TDI? Is there another option?

Setting teachers aside, conversations absolutely must be happening about why upwards of 25-30 percent of our students at the secondary level are missing 18 days or more. Those numbers should concern all of us, and inspire us to find answers.

Our city’s future depends on us being able to tackle these challenges and be there – literally and figuratively – for our students.

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    it because we live in a sick, sick, sick society. from video games to cell phones to the fake news in the local paper. people are sick all the time from this exposure. when is it going to end

    Thursday, January 23, 2020 Report this

  • davebarry109

    The teacher's union is just too strong. Warwick will follow Providence into the dustbin of the state if something is not done. They apparently have no pride at all. Poor education results year after year. Yet some of the best paid teachers in the country.

    Saturday, January 25, 2020 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    mr barry, some is the key word here. we need all teachers to be the best paid. then they will get off their duffs and teach the kids. the work slowdown will continue until demands are met

    Monday, January 27, 2020 Report this