{"id":4258,"date":"2026-08-27T21:06:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4258"},"modified":"2026-08-27T21:06:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:06:55","slug":"chronic-absenteeism-fell-in-colorado-schools-last-year-but-remains-well-above-pre-pandemic-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4258","title":{"rendered":"Chronic absenteeism fell in Colorado schools last year, but remains well above pre-pandemic level"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The share of Colorado students who were chronically absent last school year declined from the year before, although the percentage remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to data released Thursday by the Colorado Department of Education.<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado receivers eye big season under assistant Rashad Davis<\/a><\/p>\n

A student is chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of their school days. The more school days students miss, the more likely they are to fall behind academically. Chronic absenteeism has been an acute concern nationwide since the pandemic.<\/p>\n

More than a quarter of Colorado students \u2014 27.5% \u2014 were chronically absent in 2025-26, state data shows. That\u2019s down from 28.4% in 2024-25 and about the same as in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, in 2019-20, the chronic absenteeism rate was 22.6%. The Colorado Department of Education set a goal to cut chronic absenteeism to 15% by 2027-28.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made progress, but we still have significant work ahead of us,\u201d Education Commissioner Susana C\u00f3rdova said at a press conference.<\/p>\n

The department launched a campaign in 2024 aimed at boosting attendance called \u201cEvery School Day Matters!\u201d State officials hoped 80% of Colorado school districts would participate. Fewer than half have so far, according to the department.<\/p>\n

More than 230,000 Colorado students missed 10% or more of their school days in 2025-26. Big gaps remain in terms of which groups of students were more likely to be chronically absent.<\/p>\n

High school seniors had the highest rate of any grade. Students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from low-income families had higher-than-average rates.<\/p>\n

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There were also major differences by student race. About 33% of Black students and 37% of Latino students were chronically absent last year, compared with 20% of white students. All three rates were lower than the year before, with the rate for Black students dropping the most.<\/p>\n

The rate for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students ticked up from 51.1% to 52.1%. That group of students is small, with just about 3,200 students statewide.<\/p>\n

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The chronic absenteeism rate went down in 109 of Colorado\u2019s 182 school districts and boards of cooperative education services, or BOCES, and stayed the same or increased in the others.<\/p>\n

The rate in the state\u2019s largest district, Denver Public Schools, fell from 38.1% to 36.6%. The rate in Jeffco Public Schools, the state\u2019s second-largest district, dropped slightly from 26.6% to 26.2%.<\/p>\n

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The rate in the tiny Sheridan School District south of Denver skyrocketed from 34.6% to 66.2%, likely because student attendance plummeted during a teachers strike this past spring. The Sheridan teachers union went on strike for more than three weeks in April.<\/p>\n

The statewide attendance rate for 2025-26 held steady at 91.5%.<\/p>\n

State officials highlighted the 4,600-student Garfield Re-2 School District in Rifle for slashing its chronic absenteeism rate from about 40% in the 2021-22 school year to a little under 18% in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Garfield Superintendent Kirk Banghart said the district invested in family liaisons who troubleshoot attendance issues with its largely Latino population, including in families\u2019 home languages.<\/p>\n

Garfield also started an online middle and high school last year that Banghart said currently serves 67 students. Staff monitor the students to make sure they\u2019re completing their schoolwork, he said.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at\/newsletters<\/em><\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for The Denver Post\u2019s Mile High Roundup email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Peter Cullen, prolific voice actor who gave Optimus Prime his authoritative baritone, has died<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The share of Colorado students who were chronically absent last school year declined from the year before, although the percentage remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to data released Thursday by the Colorado Department of Education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic absenteeism fell in Colorado schools last year, but remains well above pre-pandemic level - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4258\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic absenteeism fell in Colorado schools last year, but remains well above pre-pandemic level - 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