I think that there are lot of more substantial actions schools can do to reduce student absenteeism, but this new study finds one interesting thing that I would guess could help on the margins.

This Ed Week article summarizes the results: The Surprising Factor That Makes Absenteeism Interventions More Successful.

The 74 also has an article on the survey: They Examined 3.3 Million Text Messages on Chronic Absenteeism. Here Are 4 Big Findings

As the above textbox says, that factor was when during the day the families were contacted.

There are some other useful tidbits in the article, too.

This technocratic strategy is definitely not where I’d start if I was an administrator, but it’s certainly easy to try and it can’t hurt.

I, however, would focus more on parent home visits, in-depth conversations with students, and more.  You can read about those strategies, and others, at The Best Resources On Student Absenteeism.