Graduation Date
Fall 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Education
Committee Chair Name
Amy K Conley
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Sara K Sterner
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Chronic absenteeism, School funding, Funding policy, Humboldt County, Elementary school funding, Policy reform, Average daily attendance, Education policy
Subject Categories
Education
Abstract
Chronic absenteeism is linked to poor academic performance and lower social-emotional skills, both of which can have long-term effects on students and their communities. The California Department of Education uses average daily attendance (ADA) to determine most of the funding that public schools receive. When a student is absent, their school loses a portion of potential funding for that day. This study explores chronic absenteeism’s impact on the funding of Humboldt County’s elementary schools with a sequential exploratory research strategy and critical systems lens. Interviews with elementary administrators were conducted using a phenomenological approach to understand how this affects their schools. Humboldt County has a high rate of poverty and of adverse childhood experiences, both of which make a child more likely to miss school. Data from the California Department of Education shows elementary students in Humboldt County are statistically more likely to be chronically absent than students in the rest of California. With funding directly linked to attendance, the ADA funding model exacerbates inequities within and among socioeconomically disadvantaged communities by withholding money from schools with lower attendance rates. In Humboldt County, the annual collective loss of millions of dollars has led to substantial fiscal problems for elementary schools. If funding policy were to shift from being attendance-based to enrollment-based, schools would have more stable and consistent funding, allowing them to better support students, staff, and communities.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Esmailian, Corabelle A., "The effects of chronic absenteeism on average daily attendance funding in Humboldt County elementary schools" (2025). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2512.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2512
Included in
Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Education Economics Commons, Education Law Commons, Education Policy Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Legislation Commons, Other Economics Commons, Other Education Commons, Public Interest Commons