Week of 4/19/26

Attendance K-12 Dive

5 Ways Schools Can Reduce Chronic Absenteeism and Boost Student Engagement

A University of Oregon meta-analysis across 49 studies found that schools using effective attendance strategies had a 77% chance of actually cutting chronic absenteeism. The standout finding: there is no single magic lever. Parent nudges helped, but so did school climate, curriculum design, and relationships. Schools that got results typically pulled several of these at once.

77%

chance that schools using effective attendance strategies reduced chronic absenteeism, across 49 studies

18%

lower likelihood of chronic absenteeism tied to parent attendance nudges

Why this matters

Attendance work gets reduced to reminder campaigns too often. This research gives leaders something more useful: a ranked list of approaches with actual evidence. Showing up is downstream of feeling safe, connected, and like school is worth the trip.

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Student Wellbeing K-12 Dive

How Mentoring Programs Spur Student Success in a New York District

Baldwin Union Free School District on Long Island runs two distinct mentoring tracks: a staff-led program pairing faculty with students, and a peer program aimed specifically at 9th and 10th graders. The district treats freshman year as the make-or-break moment for graduation timelines, using mentoring to build connection before students fall behind or disengage.

70

mentor-mentee pairs in the faculty-to-student program led by district staff

40

pairs in the peer-to-peer program, focused on 9th and 10th grade transition

Why this matters

Belonging does not happen by accident. Baldwin built a system around it, with defined roles, grade-level targeting, and both adult and peer relationships. Districts that want better attendance and retention numbers might get further starting here than launching a new platform.

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Social-Emotional Learning CASEL

New Data: Academic Performance and Social & Emotional Learning

CASEL surveyed 1,030 principals nationally and matched results to third-grade reading data from 470 of those schools. Schools where SEL was integrated into academic instruction, rather than siloed as a standalone program, exceeded reading expectations by more than 1.5 times. Poverty, school size, and geography were all controlled for.

1,030

principals surveyed on how deeply SEL was integrated into core academic instruction

1.5×

more likely to exceed reading benchmarks when SEL was part of daily classroom instruction

Why this matters

The pressure to pick between academic results and student wellbeing is a false choice, and now there is cleaner data to make that argument. SEL in a separate block does not show the same returns. The gains show up when it is built into what teachers are already doing.

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Mental Health The 74

K-12 Telehealth Provider Faces Uncertain Future as Funding Dries Up

Hazel Health, one of the larger school-based telehealth providers in the country, is cutting staff and watching district contracts lapse as pandemic relief dollars run out. In LA County alone, over $28 million funded access across 80 districts during the relief years. Nearly 9,400 students got care referrals across more than 800 schools. That infrastructure is now at risk.

$28M+

in public funds that supported telehealth access across 80 LA County districts during the relief years

9,337

students referred for care across 804 schools between March 2022 and May 2024

Why this matters

Districts built student mental health access on top of temporary money. Now that the money is gone, so is the access for thousands of kids. Leaders who want to keep virtual care running will need to look hard at Medicaid billing, contract structure, and whether any of this was ever built to last.

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School Climate Education Week

Aspiring Teachers Aren't Being Prepared to Handle Student Behavior Problems

NCTQ released a new framework calling on teacher preparation programs to give candidates real practice in behavior management before they step into a classroom. An EdWeek survey of more than 5,800 teachers found over a third reported student behavior getting noticeably worse this year compared to last. Fewer than half of reviewed prep programs covered how to respond to serious misbehavior.

1 in 3

teachers who said student behavior got a lot worse compared to the prior school year

~50%

of teacher-prep programs that addressed serious misbehavior responses in reviewed materials

Why this matters

New teachers show up underprepared, struggle with behavior, burn out, and leave. Districts then spend money on coaching and cover that could have been avoided. Better pre-service training in behavior support is not just a teacher retention play. It directly shapes how safe and functional classrooms feel for students.

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What K‑12 leaders need to know this week

5 Ways Schools Can Reduce Chronic Absenteeism and Boost Student Engagement

How Mentoring Programs Spur Student Success in a New York District

New Data: Academic Performance and Social & Emotional Learning

K-12 Telehealth Provider Faces Uncertain Future as Funding Dries Up

Aspiring Teachers Aren't Being Prepared to Handle Student Behavior Problems

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