CINCINNATI — A new statewide tool is giving communities real-time insight into school attendance, revealing both progress and persistent challenges across Ohio districts.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce last month launched a new statewide attendance dashboard, providing weekly updates and transparency on how schools across the state are performing.
Officials say it is the first tool of its kind in Ohio.
During his most recent State of the State address, DeWine said that more than 25% of Ohio students were chronically absent last year.
"Previously, this information was only released with state report cards each fall, long before any of the problems could be addressed. Now, communities won't have to wait months to know what's happening inside their schools," DeWine said.
A representative from the Ohio Department of Education said the goal of the dashboard is to spark community-level action.
"That is to initiate community conversations to think about what communities can do to assist schools, to assist parents to make sure our young people are attending school," Stephen Dackin, director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, said.
The dashboard tracks chronic absenteeism down to the district, school building and grade level.
Some local districts are showing signs of progress. Mason City Schools has a chronic absenteeism rate of around 9.7%, a drop from mid-March.
In Middletown City Schools, where chronic absenteeism has long been a challenge, the dashboard shows the rate back up to about 40%, reversing last year's 10-point drop that followed the "Middie Minutes Matter" campaign. Superintendent Deborah Houser said an increase is not unusual this time of year and that the district is committed to addressing attendance issues.
WATCH: How local school districts are tackling chronic absenteeism
"This time of year often brings increased illness, spring travel and, at times, a dip in student motivation as the school year winds down," Houser said. "We remain deeply committed to addressing attendance through ongoing initiatives and strong partnerships with families. Every day matters, and we’re focused on supporting our students so they can finish the year strong."
In West Clermont, internal data shows continued improvement. As of April 13, the district's chronic absenteeism rate stands at 25.57%, nearly a 7% drop from the 2022-2023 school year. A district representative said the progress is a result of a "focused, data-driven approach."
"Our teams work to identify and address the specific barriers that keep students from school, including transportation challenges, housing instability and mental health needs," the representative said. "Through a multi-tiered system of supports, schools provide targeted outreach, build relationships with students and families and connect them with the resources they need."
Northwest Local Schools reports its chronic absenteeism rate is about two points lower than what the state dashboard shows, and says working directly with families has contributed to that progress.
"We've had some schools push some competitions between different grade levels, that's brought attendance to the forefront, so our staff, students and families are all engaged in the importance of attendance," Darrell Yater, Northwest Local Schools superintendent, said.
The superintendent said the district is focused on understanding the root causes behind the numbers.
"It's really about using multiple sources of information to connect the dots and really look at what's working to improve students' attendance at our district and across the state," Yater said.
Families can access the live attendance dashboard at attendance.ohio.gov.
