The Efficacy Of A Mentoring Program In Improving School Attendance

Abstract

Improving student attendance is a major preoccupation of many schools across the country. Absenteeism and its ill effects start early and are a predictor of many school problems that follow (Dommeyer, 2017). Students who are frequently absent from school are at a much greater risk of poor self-concept, poor school performance, retention, and eventually dropping out of school (Garcia & Weiss, 2018). The purpose of this research was to analyze the effectiveness of a mentoring program in reducing chronic absenteeism in an inner-city public elementary school. Eighty-four students who were chronically absent (defined as missing 10% or more of school days) or on the cusp of being chronically absent were assigned to caring adults in the building. After the mentorship program, attendance was compared with the pre-intervention rate. The results indicated that that there was an increase in student attendance, and the reduction in the absenteeism rate of students was related to the mentorship program. Keywords: Mentoring, Improving School Attendance, American Education System, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2703-5767