New Attendance Warning Signs: What Every District Should Know
Recent data is revealing new early signals of student disengagement–signals districts can act on before attendance issues become chronic.
YouthTruth’s latest research on student experience and school safety, combined with SchoolStatus analysis of 2024-25 attendance patterns across 172 districts and insights from 3 million school-to-family messages, highlights warning signs every district should be paying attention to right now.
In this 30-minute Ed Talk, Dr. Jennifer de Forest (YouthTruth) and Dr. Kara Stern (SchoolStatus) share what these signals mean—and how districts can respond with timely, meaningful action. Because when educators know what to look for early, they can connect with families sooner and change outcomes for students.
Take a Sneak Peek:
New Attendance Warning Signs: What Every District Should Know
During this free on-demand webinar, you’ll learn:
- When Intervention Matters Most: The moments when support has the biggest impact, and the grade levels where early action is most urgent
- What Student Experience Signals About Attendance: How to use shifts in academics and behavior as predictors for whether students stay connected to school
- How to Respond When Early Signals Appear: Practical strategies districts can implement right away to strengthen school climate, improve attendance, and support students before problems escalate
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Jennifer de Forest brings a wealth of experience to YouthTruth, with nearly a decade of classroom teaching, school leadership roles in California and New York City, and extensive work on school-based research projects. She holds a doctorate from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and has served as a professor at the University of Virginia, publishing widely on education reform. At YouthTruth, Dr. de Forest helps school leaders turn community insights into actionable data, drawing on her diverse background in education and research.
Dr. Kara Stern has seen school from just about every angle: high school English teacher, middle school principal, fellowship director for math and science teachers across New York City, and head of school at a rural N-12 school. That breadth is what she brings to her work at SchoolStatus, where she writes, speaks, and challenges educators to build the kinds of school communities where every student thrives. She holds a Master’s in Education Leadership from Teachers College and a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from NYU.