In a typical school week, Delaila Constante makes more than a dozen calls to parents of students who are frequently absent from school. Last October, she made around 50 to 60 calls each week.
As a parental involvement assistant at Edinburg North High School in South Texas, Constante is responsible for checking with parents of students who miss too much school, whether their absences are excused or unexcused. Parents often tell her their families face medical or financial difficulties like not having running water or enough food to put on the table.
Constante came into her role in 2022, when schools were seeing absenteeism rates rise rapidly as a prolonged effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem lingers today. Texas school leaders and education experts say repeated absences can lead to worse outcomes for students and a risk of dropping out.
