Prior to the pandemic, the average rate of chronic absenteeism nationwide was about 15%, and it was around 24% in 2024.
Sarah Lenhoff, The Conversation
Sarah Lenhoff is the founding director of the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research, where she oversees and manages research projects and partnerships and leads studies focused on chronic absenteeism, school choice and the intersections between education and housing. Lenhoff is also the Leonard Kaplan Endowed Professor and an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Wayne State University. Her current research examines the connections between housing insecurity, school choice and student attendance and how efforts to revitalize Detroit's neighborhoods affect student and family outcomes. Her research aims to illuminate how structural barriers and resources influence student experiences and partners with community members to evaluate and design efforts to reduce student challenges and improve access to education. Lenhoff earned her Ph.D in Educational Policy at Michigan State University.