Chronic absence still affects more than one in five students. Before the pandemic, it was about 15%. It peaked above 28% in 2022 and fell to 22.6% in 2025. The 2025 drop was less than one point.
Many schools respond with more messages home. Messages can help. But on October 23, Nathan Maynard pointed us somewhere else.
Nathan wrote Hacking School Discipline and Science of Discipline, and he founded Highfive. He's also a strategic advisor for AnswerQuest. He joined Sam Pritchard, our Head of School Partnerships, for our first webinar.
Here are five lessons school leaders can use this week.
1. Attendance Is the Tip of the Iceberg
Nathan used to teach anger management with an iceberg drawing. Students wrote what others could see at the top. Their feelings and thoughts went below the water. He sees attendance the same way.
"I think the tip of the iceberg is attendance."
Under the water could be barriers at home or a student who dreads walking in. It could be a sense that school doesn't matter.
That's why speed matters. When schools catch absences and tardies quickly, they find what's underneath while it's still small. A missed Monday is a question. Six missed Mondays is a pattern that's harder to undo.
2. All Behavior Is Communication
Nathan started out as a youth worker in juvenile justice. He met young people who kept getting more consequences without anyone asking why.
"All behavior is a form of communication."
The same is true of absences. A student who stops coming is telling you something. The job is to find the driver, then work on the driver. A letter about missed days won't reach it.
3. Hold High Expectations Without Fear
Early in his career, a colleague told Nathan, "Never smile until Christmas." He didn't buy it. Fear-based discipline can make students feel shamed and powerless. Students who feel that way at school find reasons to stay away.
Nathan still wants consequences. "I believe in consequences and I believe in high expectations," he said. He also believes in smiling at students and getting to know them.
Restorative practices ask what harm was done and how to repair it. That slows the process down, for students and for adults.
He added a warning that applies to attendance too. Giving the same consequence over and over doesn't change behavior. Responses need to build, and someone needs to keep track of them.
4. Routines Broke, and Expectations Shifted
Why is chronic absence still so high? Nathan pointed to routines. The pandemic disrupted the habits of a school day, from waking up on time to sitting still in class.
It also changed expectations at home. Families under stress put on what he called "body armor." For some, a tired morning became a reason to stay home.
AEI's latest report reaches a similar conclusion. Students who started kindergarten after the pandemic are missing school at much higher rates too. AEI reads that as a change in habits and norms that reaches every grade.
Norms change through relationships. That's where the next lesson comes in.
5. One Trusted Adult Can Bring a Student Back
Nathan recently met a Delaware high school student who nearly dropped out the year before. Now she's getting all A's and one B and is on track to graduate. He asked her what changed. She named one staff member, Trey, who got to know her and helped her want to come back.
"I think one trusted adult is huge for a disengaged student."
That adult notices when a student comes in and when they don't. They ask why, and they build a path back.
That same district showed Nathan a hallway lined with flags from every country its students call home. To him, it meant many languages spoken by parents, aunts, and uncles. When you talk with a family in their own language, he said, you get far better context.
Where the Front Office Fits
Every one of these lessons needs time. Someone has to notice the absence, follow up, and talk with the family. In most schools, that starts in the front office, and that office is busy.
"School administrators and office staff are so weighed down," Nathan said. They field constant phone calls and new faces all day. He sees technology's job as helping people do this work better.
"Technology can amplify the humans in the system."
That's where AnswerQuest comes in. AnswerQuest is your school's front office assistant. Parents text in absences, and your staff approve them. When absences add up, AnswerQuest tells the right staff member and tracks the follow-up. Families can ask in 80+ languages and get answers on their own.
At Chartiers-Houston, three office staff each spent about half the day on attendance. Now it takes about 20 minutes a day. That time goes back to the work Nathan described: noticing, asking, and being the trusted adult.
Watch the full conversation: The Attendance and Discipline Connection. To learn more about Nathan's work, visit highfive.school.
What's one thing your school does to spot the tip of the iceberg early? Let's talk.
Photo by Haseeb Modi on Unsplash.