Heidi Schumacher, M.D.’10, an associate professor of pediatrics at the UVM Larner College of Medicine and the lead investigator for Everyday Counts, an initiative to reduce chronic absenteeism in Vermont schools, commented to the (West Lebanon, N.H.) Valley News for a story on the White River Valley Supervisory Union’s Alternative Learning pilot program. The program, which is funded through the supervisory union’s budget, addresses not only the reality that some students do not flourish in a traditional academic setting, but also chronic absenteeism.
Research shows that inconsistent school attendance is a key predictor of more than high school graduation, Dr. Schumacher explained. Just as doctors look at heart rate, weight, and blood pressure, “we’re increasingly calling [chronic absenteeism] a pediatric vital sign. If you only look at unexcused absence, we miss a lot of things that matter,” she said.
For that reason the old term, “truancy,” with its implications of failure and consequent punishment—expulsion from school—has been retired in favor of “chronic absenteeism,” which Schumacher said better expresses the confluence of personal, medical, and societal issues that can contribute to staying home from school.