Morning Briefing | Chronic absenteeism in area schools

More students are missing more school, and officials are continuing to look for ways to get them back.

Today in the Morning Briefing, we look at the latest data on chronic absenteeism and what’s happening in local schools. We also look at the opportunity the region faces next May when an annual NATO summit comes to Dayton.

If you have thoughts or feedback on this newsletter or other news tips, please let me know at Kyle.Nagel@coxinc.com.

Want to read the digital version of the newspaper? Click here for our daily ePaper.

The newsletter should take about 3 minutes, 10 seconds to read.

***

Chronic absenteeism in schools still high across Ohio three years after spike

Almost every area charter and public school still has more students missing 10% or more of school days compared to before the pandemic.

• Statewide: Chronic absenteeism in the 2023-2024 school year dropped to 25.6% from 26.8% in the 2022-2023 school year. In the 2018-2019 school year, the chronic absenteeism rate was 16.7%.

• Why is it happening? Officials say it could be because students got used to being at home during the pandemic and parents are more likely to keep their kids at home now if they’re sick.

• Highest, lowest: Cedar Cliff, a small Greene County district, had the lowest rate of chronic absenteeism in the area among the traditional public school districts, at 7.8%. Northridge had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism among traditional local public schools locally at 48.3%.

Dayton, Montgomery County prepare to roll out red carpet for NATO session

A NATO parliamentary assembly this upcoming spring is going to shine a global spotlight on the Dayton region and local officials and leaders are making preparations.

• What’s happening? Between May 23 and 26, Dayton will host the 2025 spring session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, which will be the first time one of the organization’s annual sessions has been held stateside since 2003.

• Funds being prepared: The Dayton City Commission recently had the first reading of a revised appropriations ordinance for 2024 that includes $1.5 million for capital improvement projects to prepare for the parliamentary assembly.

• What they’re saying: “We are ramping up our beautification efforts, including elements like flowers and landscaping, wayfinding signage, banners and cleanliness,” said Katie Meyer, president of the partnership. “We’re also developing a program to activate vacant or underutilized spaces that help celebrate our community and culture.”