What LeBron James Can Teach Us About Chronic Absenteeism — and What Schools Can Do About It
July 31, 2019
By: Phyllis W. Jordan
Source: The 74
Amid the fanfare over the public school that NBA star LeBron James opened last year in Akron, Ohio, came a poignant interview acknowledging a problem he faced as a student: chronic absenteeism. Moving from home to home with his mother, living across town from his school with no car or bus route to get him there, James missed 83 days in fourth grade.
“Anytime I would show up at school, the teachers would tell my mom, ‘He’s one of the best students that we have. We just hope that he can show up more.’ We just couldn’t do it at that point in time,” James recounted.
James’s experience underscores the barriers that many students face in getting to school every day. Unreliable transportation, poor health and the churn that comes with unstable housing can keep many students, especially those from low-income communities, out of class. His story has a happy ending, with caring adults helping him turn around his absenteeism and succeed academically. But many chronically absent students never connect with anyone at school and end up failing classes and dropping out.