Empty desks: Advocates talk chronic school absenteeism

Concerned school and government leaders are downplaying the state of student absenteeism, community organizers are strategizing to create urgency around who’s regularly missing class — and why — in Winnipeg.

The inaugural Youth at Risk in Winnipeg Symposium, held over the weekend at the Canadian Mennonite University, drew roughly 100 people to discuss barriers to attendance and brainstorm ways to remove them.

Nearly 20 years after he began calling attention to the issue, first as a volunteer with the Point Douglas Residents Committee, Sel Burrows gave an impassioned speech about the lack of political will to take meaningful action to help students from “dysfunctional homes.”

“I’ve dealt with nine cabinet ministers, Conservative and NDP, and five deputy ministers, and the issue has not gotten any better,” Burrows told teachers, reseachers and community support workers gathered Saturday on CMU’s Shaftesbury campus.

The anti-poverty and community safety advocate talked about the need for accurate data collection and systematic collaboration to curb gang recruitment. Burrows said there needs to be better tracking of students in foster care and support for families struggling with addiction and other drivers of truancy.

“I’ve dealt with nine cabinet ministers, Conservative and NDP, and five deputy ministers, and the issue has not gotten any better.”

He also proposed paying neighbours of households of children with known attendance challenges to help caregivers get them ready on weekday mornings in the Winnipeg School Division.

CMU, in collaboration with Inner City Youth Alive and Toronto-based Massey College, co-organized the day-long event.

“This problem is enormous and it’s not high on the priority list,” said Thomas Axworthy, a Winnipegger who oversees public policy initiatives at a postgraduate residential college affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Axworthy contacted Inner City Youth Alive after he watched Absent, an hour-long documentary released last fall by the faith-based nonprofit that serves youth in the North End.

Independent researchers Aidan Perreault and Julia Ward were tapped to prepare a report on the topic ahead of the symposium.

Perreault, a political science student at the University of Manitoba, said it’s critical that young people are part of the discussions.

“This problem is enormous and it’s not high on the priority list.”

“Some of the responses have been a little bit tone deaf,” she said, adding that focusing on making schools more welcoming is far from a cure-all.

The 71-page report identified child poverty, housing instability and the youth mental health crisis as key areas in need of prevention and intervention work.

On the topic of chronic absenteeism, the authors highlighted gaps in accurate, consistent and timely reporting on attendance data.

“They’re covering up the issue of how bad chronic absenteeism is,” Burrows said about school and government leaders.

The founder of Point Powerline, a community crime tip line, recalled being told that efforts to combat absenteeism were underway in 2007 when he presented to school trustees.

The progress since then is murky, owing to poor record-keeping, he said.

Government documents leaked in March show more than 15,000 students in Manitoba had severe chronic absenteeism in 2023-24.

The Winnipeg School Division partnered with the University of Winnipeg faculty of education in April to host a Student Absenteeism Summit.

Advanced Education Minister Renée Cable touted the NDP government’s expansion of school meal programs, its recent rollout of free transit for teenagers and support for vocational programs as efforts to improve student engagement.

“Here’s the big secret about government — we need people to be loud on the outside… Things move when the public sentiment around them moves,” Cable said Saturday.

Senator Mary Jane McCallum, former city police chief Devon Clunis and Kate Kehler of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg were among the attendees.

“Solutions are simple, but they’re hard,” said Siobhan Faulkner, a community helper with Sabu’s Cubs, a non-profit that mentors youth in Point Douglas.

Faulkner said she’s seen success at Gonzaga Middle School, which hosts Sabu’s Cubs, owing to its holistic approach to education involving extensive community outreach.

“Here’s the big secret about government – we need people to be loud on the outside… Things move when the public sentiment around them moves.”

The Manitoba legislature recently voted down a private member’s bill that would’ve required principals to report annually on the number of students who are chronically absent.

Independent MLA Mark Wasyliw, a former trustee in the Winnipeg School Division, had proposed reports include a breakdown of how many children self-declared as Indigenous.

Bill 236, the Public Schools Amendment Act (Chronic Absenteeism Reporting), was defeated on Oct. 6.

“Our school system is failing these kids and we have a government who is disinterested,” said Wasyliw, who was ousted from the NDP caucus in September 2024.

The Fort Garry MLA is calling on the province to release attendance data to back up its claims that the nutrition program has improved engagement.

maggie.macintosh@winnipegfreepress.com