1 in 3 students are chronically absent from school.* One surprising reason? A lack of access to clean clothes. We teamed up with Whirlpool to explore this hidden educational crisis. 

For the second episode in our three-part series, our host, psychologist and parent educator Dr. Jazmine McCoy, will cover: how chronic absenteeism affects a student’s social-emotional learning experience; how chronic absenteeism impacts their mental health; and the signs you can look for in your own child. In this episode you’ll hear from: Dr. Richard Rende, a developmental science psychologist and researcher, and McKenzie Roney, the managing director of national corporate partnerships at Teach For America.

Sources: *Based on “Monitoring Data Matters Even More: A Review of State Attendance Data Policy and Practice in School Year 2022-23,” updated June 2023. Dr. Jazmine, [2:27 - 2:43], based on “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychological Review, 1943. Dr. Rende, [6:16 - 6:28], based on the Department of Education Report "Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation's Schools," updated 2019. Care Counts™ program metrics consider only 2022–2023 school year results according to Impact YOY data.

This miniseries was Skimm’d by Dr. Jazmine McCoy, along with our producers Monica Perry and Lizzy Bryce, and scriptwriter Sarah Title. This episode was created in partnership with Ginni Media.