ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — In 2022, absenteeism in Orange County was at 27.6% and fell to 23.7% last year.

In both cases, however, the county has remained above the state average (19.4%), leading Orange County Public Schools leaders to discuss how to curb those numbers ahead of the 2024-25 school year.

District 2 school board member Maria Salamanca said she believes a few factors contribute to students who miss school. One is a loss of focus, which she said is mainly geared toward older students.

Previously, Salamanca said transportation also plays a role in whether students make it to school.

While the contributing factors are not new, she said the district really started to see the issue increase following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Absenteeism is an issue around the country,” she said. “A lot of the districts, including Orange County, have felt these numbers almost double since COVID.”

A study completed in Orange County last year suggested that throughout OCPS, nearly 24% of students in the district were considered chronically absent, which means the student had to have at least 10 unexcused absences within a 90-day period.

According to Salamanca, OCPS has been using focus groups to talk with parents and students on the matter to try to curb those numbers. She said the district has also started calling parents earlier in the day when students are absent to make sure their parents are aware.

“High school parents get a call after first period. That’s around 9 a.m.," Salamanca said. "Usually our elementary school parents get a call around 10 a.m. and then middle school is around 11 a.m.”

Although she said absenteeism is more common among middle and high school students, fifth-grade teacher Sara Hudson said she knows firsthand how important attendance is for every student, especially those still in the early stages of learning.

“They’re gaining a lot of foundational skills from the very first day that they step on this campus," Hudson said. "It’s not even just academics. It’s social, it’s emotional.”

For 12 years, she’s created a family-like environment for the students that cross her path, intertwining fun learning methods and building relationships in her classroom to keep her students coming back. Hudson said the goal every day is to push her students to have a voice in her classroom, dream big and love education. That is just what her 10th-grade teacher did for her.

“She really instilled in me, just shining my light and not dimming it for anyone. She embodied what authentic education should look like,” Hudson said. “Building relationships with kids, loving on them, but also setting a high expectation for them to meet.”

Her 10th-grade algebra teacher pushed her to go to the board and solve an equation. Hudson said that was the spark that led her to a life of education, and her goal is to give that same spark to her students.

However, she said that attending is where it starts.