Kinvolved: Utilizing Technology to Communicate, Evaluate, and Advocate for Improved Attendance and Family and Community Engagement

Abstract

The American K-12 grade education system is experiencing a truancy crisis. Nationally, 15%, or 7.5 million students, miss an entire month of school annually [1], with that rate frequently doubling or even tripling among students from underserved communities [2]. Research has identified attendance as one of three primary indicators of high school graduation; in the United States today, nearly 35% of students will not earn a high school diploma within 4 years [3]. Ten states (CA, KY, MS, OR, IL, MO, TX, WA, ID, NC) specifically fund schools based on the Average daily Attendance model, through which schools are paid for the number of students in attendance everyday. In San Diego, where schools earn $29 per day for each student recorded “present,” the cost of absenteeism has amounted to $624 million over the last 5 years [4]. A Gates Foundation study found that 71% of recent dropouts believe the most effective way to have kept them and to keep their peers in school is to increase communication with families [5]. These research findings, coupled with the authors' teaching and parent advocacy experiences, have inspired Kinvolved, an organization dedicated to increasing K-12 attendance, particularly among underserved students, by implementing holistic solutions that integrate modern technology and human capital.