How High School Attendance Impacts Tennessee's Workforce

This op-ed was originally posted on May 23, 2026, in The Tennessean.

If we want to build a strong, competitive workforce across Tennessee, we must start earlier – by ensuring students have what they need to show up, stay on track and succeed.

Across Tennessee, we are having important conversations about workforce development – how to attract jobs, grow our economy and prepare the next generation for success. But one of the clearest indicators of our future workforce is often overlooked: whether students show up to school each day.

Last year, nearly 1 in 5 students in Tennessee were chronically absent, missing 10% or more of the school year. That’s not just an education issue – it’s an early signal that nearly 200,000 students are at risk of falling behind both in the classroom and in life. 

Kids want to come to school; when they don’t, there’s usually an underlying issue totally outside of the child's – or school’s – control. While each situation is unique, some of the most common non-academic barriers we see include a lack of transportation, housing instability, difficulty accessing affordable medical care and unmet basic needs.  

Providing Wraparound Services for Students and Families

That’s where Communities In Schools steps in. Our highly trained school-based staff work directly inside 124 partner schools in 22 counties across the state to provide wraparound services to students and families, connecting them with vital community resources and support to ensure all students have what they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. 

This support happens at three levels, all tailored to the school’s unique needs and goals set during an assessment before the start of the school year: school-wide programs, such as a career day or March Madness-style attendance competition; small groups focused on a common issue, such as college prep or building life and social skills; and one-on-one case management services. 

This work looks different at every school, but across the state, we are fully united in helping every child reach their full potential and prepare for long-term success. 

For one student in Nashville, that looks like having a trusted adult at school to lean on while navigating the loss of a parent and continuing to prepare for the future.

A Community In Schools Success Story

When Ava, a student at Maplewood High School, lost her mother, the grief and housing instability that followed worsened her attendance challenges. A school-based team member stepped in to assist with transportation, provide steady encouragement and connect Ava with the resources she needed to stay on track academically and begin planning for life after graduation. Through Maplewood’s Academy of Health Science and STEM, Ava pursued her interest in the medical field while her school-based team member guided her through trade school applications, FAFSA support and mock interviews.

va recently earned her Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification and has applied to Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to pursue phlebotomy after graduation. Since last year, Ava’s attendance has improved by nearly 50%, showing the impact that consistent support and career guidance can have on a student’s future. 

Stories like this are not the exception – they are what’s possible when students have the support they need to stay in school and succeed. Last year, 72% of our students who had been chronically absent the year before improved their attendance. 86% improved on their individualized goals, whether related to attendance, behavior, life skills or academic performance. 

The CIS Model Provides Long-Term Benefits

The best news of all: This impact lasts well beyond the end of the school year. New national research highlights the long-term benefits of the evidence-based CIS model: Three years of CIS support leads to substantial gains in high school graduation and college enrollment rates (5.2% and 9.1%, respectively), increased workforce readiness and economic mobility (early-career earnings grow by 4.3%) and a strong return on public investment ($2.36 in lifetime federal tax revenue is generated for every $1 invested). 

If we want to build a strong, competitive workforce across Tennessee, we must start earlier – by ensuring students have what they need to show up, stay on track and succeed. That means recognizing attendance not just as an education issue, but as a foundation for college access, career readiness and long-term economic strength.  

Because when students are supported to show up and succeed, they don’t just change their own trajectory. They help build a stronger future for all of us. 
 

Meredith Benton is the CEO of CIS of Tennessee. Communities In Schools is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.