A comprehensive outside-of-school intervention to promote school attendance and achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVES: School absenteeism predicts poor academic achievement and long-term health inequities. Chronic absenteeism increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, and both student attendance and achievement disparities widened. This study examined the association between participation in an intensive outside-of-school intervention, Student U, and school absenteeism, as well as changes in attendee academic performance during the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Observational cohort study. METHODS: A simple linear regression model was performed testing the association between Student U attendance and schools absences. Paired t-tests and a global test for overall improvement using generalized estimating equations were performed to examine changes in pre- and post-test academic performance. RESULTS: The sample included 65 students (Hispanic/Latino, 56.9 %; Non-Hispanic Black/African American, 33.8 %; 80.0 % first-generation college-bound). For every day a 7th-grade student attended Student U, school absences decreased by 0.14 days (p = 0.02). Mean differences in overall improvement for 7th- and 10th-grade student test scores were 23.65 (95 % CI: 19.91, 27.39; p < 0.001) and 22.12 (95 % CI: 15.67, 28.58; p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the association between participation in Student U and lower school absenteeism, as well as improved academic performance across multiple subjects for underserved youth. Findings reinforce the potential for comprehensive and intensive outside-of-school programs to support underserved youth and mitigate inequities following pandemics and other public health emergencies.
