Sally Butzin: Joy has left the classroom. So have too many students.

Children are missing from school in alarming rates. Chronic absenteeism represents a growing crisis for society. Kids not in school are not learning. Many are out on the streets causing trouble.

Last year in Leon County 13,000 students missed over 10% of classroom time, 24.1% missed over 21 school days, while middle and high schools report that 50% were chronically absent.

Statewide, the data show that more than 1 million students were absent for 10% or more of the year.

The causes and solutions are complex. The aftermath of COVID and dysfunctional home conditions are at play. Some teens stay home to care for younger siblings. Younger students depend on parents to have them ready for school.

Solutions range from hiring more truant officers to sanctioning parents. A more thoughtful solution is to create classroom conditions so that children want to come to school. When school is boring with hostile conditions, most children will choose not to show up.

Classroom conditions have become more negative as pressure ramps up to score high on tests, while highly effective teachers are replaced by substitutes due to teacher shortages. Joy has left the classroom as creativity is stifled.

It’s time to return to joyful learning. I have seen it done through my own work with Project CHILD (Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered). Project CHILD classrooms with child-centered active learning had few attendance problems, even in the most challenging schools. Children loved coming to school.

It’s time to adopt the concepts of Invitational Education to create inviting schools where all students feel welcome. William Purkey, the author of many books on Invitational Education, now lives in Tallahassee. He is a friend and mentor.

Inviting schools intentionally adopt the key concepts of care, optimism, respect, and trust. Imagine how students (no matter what age) will want to attend a school where they know they are cared for, there is a spirit of optimism, they feel respected, and are trusted to do the right thing. We call this the iCORT operating system. Simple but effective.

Instead of focusing on punitive solutions, let’s devote resources toward creating inviting schools and engaging classrooms so that chronic absenteeism is a thing of the past.

Tallahassee resident Sally Butzin is past chair of the International Alliance for Invitational Education. Her latest book is “Creating joyful classrooms: A positive response to testing and accountability in the elementary school” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sally Butzin: Joy has left the classroom. So have too many students.