Our Blog
Chronic absenteeism remains one of the most pressing challenges facing schools today, but the field lacks rigorous evidence on the key drivers and potential solutions to reduce it. Here, we share early lessons from five studies focused on generating actionable insights to boost attendance from Pre-K through high school.
As states and districts work to combat chronic absenteeism in K-12, out-of-school-time providers are essential partners in boosting student engagement and attendance. Emma Banay, Hedy Chang, and Jodi Grant underscore the proven impact of high-quality programs on reducing school-day absences and urge decision-makers to prioritize them as more than an “expendable extra.”
In Q4 2024, our foundation awarded 28 grants totaling over $18.4 million. Here, we highlighted just some of the direct impact and ecosystem organizations we’re proud to support this quarter as we conclude our 2024 grantmaking.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, one out of every four students—or even more—have been considered chronically absent in U.S. school systems. To combat the growing absenteeism crisis, a new study from the Ad Council Research Institute, funded by Overdeck Family Foundation, provides guidance for how school leaders, educators, community partners, and others can more effectively encourage families to send their children to school on a consistent basis.
Our funding will support five studies designed to produce data and research that collectively inform the work of policymakers and practitioners in the hope of increasing student attendance from Pre-K to high school.
In Q4 2023, our foundation awarded 20 grants totaling over nine million dollars. Of these, four were to organizations new to our foundation, nine were renewals, five were disbursements for ongoing pledges, and two covered additional grantee supports, membership fees, and convenings. In this blog post, we highlight just some of the organizations we’re proud to support this quarter as we conclude our 2023 grantmaking.