Compass Fights Absenteeism – and Wins Big
Compass Community Schools is making statewide headlines—and for all the right reasons. In a time when chronic absenteeism continues to challenge educators nationwide, two Memphis charter schools are flipping the narrative. Compass- Berclair and Compass- Hickory Hill saw some of the largest drops in chronic absenteeism statewide.
This May, the Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC) featured the Compass campuses in a glowing case study, spotlighting their remarkable gains:
Berclair saw a 55.5% drop in chronic absenteeism during the 2021–22 school year.
Hickory Hill reduced its absenteeism by 35.6% in the same year.
What was their strategy?
Communication is Key
Compass bridges the gap with absentees by maintaining comfortable and informed communication with students and their families. Here, attendance isn’t just written off as another statistic – it is addressed on all facets until the individual student’s problem is resolved.
School Culture
Emphasizing mandatory attendance can only go so far based on the quality of the student community. Helping students and their families understand the risks of absenteeism is the first step in correcting lack of attendance. Compass Campus life is designed to be fun, welcoming, rewarding, and personalized. Every student at Compass deserves to be seen, and each administrator and teacher goes out of their way to act intentionally towards attendees.
Students learn that their voices are important, and are invited to speak up at community meetings (morning discussions between class and teacher), form relationships with their educators, and grow confident in classroom interaction.
Combination Creates Success
Together, communication, healthy school culture, and genuine connections make Compass schools a place where every child is seen and assisted, wherever their circumstances lie. Absenteeism awareness doesn't begin with statistics, it starts by reaching out to every child and family and forging insightful connections that produce real benefit.
