How one Pittsburgh school reduced absenteeism by 30% in just five years

PITTSBURGH — One Pittsburgh school has set a benchmark for reducing absenteeism, by giving a little extra all around.

A few years ago, just over a third of middle school students at Pittsburgh Schiller had missed 10% of school days – something educators call "chronic absenteeism."

It's a problem at several Pittsburgh Public Schools, with some in the district seeing rates above 50%.

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Missing 18 days over the course of a school year adds up, and school counselors said it prevents the students from being prepared for the next year.

Studies show those students often fall so far behind that they are more likely to drop out of school by 9th grade.

Staff at Schiller recognized the problem, and in five years, they reduced their absenteeism rate of 36% to five percent.

For a full report on the progress of Pittsburgh Public Schools, click here.

Watch the video above for full report on how they did this.

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