Exploring the Impact of Great Oaks Kathleen Sherry Charter School’s Tutoring Program on Chronic Absenteeism

February 2025
Jonah Liebert 

Our nation faces an unprecedented crisis in school attendance that threatens to undermine a generation’s educational foundation. In the wake of the pandemic, chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10% or more of school days—has reached alarming levels, with rates doubling or even tripling in many states compared to pre-pandemic figures. There is little evidence of the rates improving. In some communities, up to 40% of students are chronically absent, creating what educators call a “lost generation” of learners. Across the nation, about 28% of students are chronically absent, which translates to about 15 million students. The implications extend far beyond missed classroom time: chronically absent students are less likely to read proficiently by third grade, more likely to fall behind in core subjects, and face significantly reduced chances of high school graduation. This educational emergency demands immediate attention and innovative solutions from policymakers, educators, and communities alike.

High-impact tutoring offers a ray of hope to address our nation’s chronic absenteeism crisis. A 2024 study by Stanford University’s National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) on Washington DC’s High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative reveals an encouraging connection between tutoring and improved school attendance. The study found that students were significantly more likely to attend school on days when tutoring sessions were scheduled, with absenteeism decreasing by 1.2 percentage points (a 7% overall reduction) on tutoring days. The impact was particularly striking for middle school students, who showed a 13.7% reduction in absences when tutoring was scheduled. Most notably, students who had histories of frequent absences in the previous year benefited the most, with scheduled tutoring reducing their likelihood of being absent by 2.6 percentage points—more than double the average effect. The study highlights that the most effective tutoring programs were those embedded within the school day and featuring small tutor-to-student ratios (1:1 or 1:2), suggesting that the individualized attention and relationship-building aspects of tutoring play crucial roles in motivating student attendance.

Great Oaks Kathleen Sherry Charter School implements a comprehensive “Develop-Mentor-Instruct” framework that provides strong tutoring focused on academic learning and mentoring focused on social and emotional learning growth. At its core, the model provides students with four 50 minute tutoring sessions each week, for a total of 200 minutes of weekly academic tutoring. The tutoring is delivered in small groups of 2-4 students, with sessions fully embedded within the school day. The tutors also connect with students for 15 minutes of daily mentoring during the morning advisory period when students eat breakfast and prepare for their day. In addition, more structured mentoring happens in 40 minute blocks on Wednesdays. The program is delivered by AmeriCorps members—recent college graduates known as “GO Fellows” who serve as near-peer mentors, with over 66% identifying as persons of color, reflecting the communities they serve. These Fellows not only provide academic support but also work alongside teachers and maintain regular family communication.

The school’s model engages students in learning and forges meaningful relationships between students and Fellows. This has yielded remarkable results. During the 2023-24 school year, Great Oaks had an impressively low 12% chronic absenteeism rate compared to NYC’s 36% average and 44.2% for high-poverty schools. These preliminary results shine a light on what’s possible as policymakers and leaders look for the antidote to the chronic absenteeism crisis. School leaders must prioritize high-impact tutoring in their budgets before it’s too late.