From The Good in People CEO on School Attendance, Absenteeism, and Helping at Home

     The White House 2023 report utilizes the phrase “All Hands on Deck” in its title (The White House, 2023). May 2024 brought the Center for American Reform (CAP) summit titled Reset. Reframe. Reform (CAP, 2024) and the understanding of home-centric gaps and the use of texting modalities to reach families (House, 2024); it appears a CBPAR approach is underway.

     Moving into 2025, we must focus on what happens before a student gets to school. Federal relief, post-pandemic, focused heavily on in-school support, yet the exacerbation of disparity and its ensuing effects were crumbling homes and communities before students walked into the school door.  So, while the school can be welcoming and safe, if the child cannot get there, it does not matter. And conversely, if the home intervention is placed, yet the school is unwelcoming or hostile, interventions do not matter. 

 

                                                                                                                                         -Sonya T. Berle​​​