The Syracuse City School District’s long push to bring students to school paid off last year as chronic absenteeism dropped 11% across the district.
While New York data shows Syracuse schools improved last year, the district still has some of the highest rates of chronic absenteeism in the state. It ranked as the 17th worst district for elementary and middle school absenteeism in New York during the 2024-25 school year.
SCSD has been fighting to increase attendance for years, but needed to expand its approach after chronic absenteeism levels skyrocketed during the pandemic. Since then, the district has been using data to find students most at risk and working with families to determine the root causes for a child’s absence…