Tens of thousands of Edmonton public and Catholic school students are chronically absent each year, according to data obtained by CBC News. Education experts say they are alarmed by the numbers, warning they could be an early symptom of deeper issues for those students.

Chronic absenteeism — when a student misses at least 10 per cent of the school year, or roughly 18 days — has been rising in Edmonton in recent years.

Attendance is worse in the city’s public schools: more than three in 10 students have missed that much class time each academic year since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, data shows. Although, a similar trend is playing out in Catholic high schools.

“That’s a serious number,” said Jacqueline Leighton, a University of Alberta professor of educational psychology. “As a

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