School doors are open, but in New York City, hundreds of thousands of students are likely missing from classrooms. If history repeats itself, more than one in three public school students, including half of those in foster care, will be counted among the chronically absent.

These empty seats signal something deeper than missed lesson plans: in many cases, students don’t make it to class because personal challenges and structural inequities overshadow the promise of an education. Other students are driven away by poor school climates and a lack of engagement with at least one educator.

Chronic absenteeism — defined as missing more than 10% of class days — is often the first phase in a downward spiral. Prolonged absences prevent students from acquiring social norms and skills necessary for

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