Preventing chronic absenteeism requires that we understand the inner workings of habitual student absence. In this episode, we go straight to the source with Osborne High School senior Oscar Segoviano. Oscar details his attendance journey in his own words, vis-à-vis his teacher advocate, Osborne High's Work-Based Learning Coordinator Katy Hunt. Katy's refusal to accept excuses and her commitment to grasp Oscar's pattern lit the fire that ultimately brought him back to school.

Part 2 of Georgia DOE’s December 2025 Attendance Summit “Georgia Goes to School” continues with state leaders on a mission to help cut Georgia's chronic absenteeism by 50% in 5 years. Attendance Works, a national partner in reducing poor attendance, joins GaDOE’s Deputy Superintendent Justin Hill, and the Director of Children in Need of Services (CHINS) for Georgia’s juvenile court judges to explore the problem, the progress, and potential future solutions.

Chronic absenteeism: what is it, how do we fix it, and who can help? In a two-part special field recording from the 2nd annual Georgia DOE Attendance Summit "Georgia Goes to School," we examine contributing factors to the attendance struggle from various agencies' vantage points. Representatives from UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, DBHDD, and GaDOE School Nutrition illuminate their organization's role in supporting student attendance in Part 1.