- Date
- March 2011
Regular school attendance is vital to children's academic and social development. All absences, whether they are due to suspension, expulsion, truancy, illness, or other excused reasons, reduce the time that students spend in the classroom learning. In some of Maryland’s schools, rates of chronic absence are at epidemic levels.
Increasing school attendance, particularly in low-achieving schools, is a critical first step to raising achievement levels for all students. OSI-Baltimore supports school-wide and community-wide efforts to remove barriers to regular school attendance and develop schools that are engaging and welcoming to all students.
The full fact sheet is available for download.