MOLINE, Ill. — United Way of the Quad Cities visited students at 13 schools on Tuesday, February 25 to discuss reasons why students may miss class.
The organization is encouraging schools to get on board with a campaign called the "Challenge 5 Initiative." That's simply a push to miss five or fewer days of school each year.
They say more than five absences each year begin to have an effect on students' ability to learn. Eighteen missed days of school increases a student's risk of dropping out of school.
"There's absences quite a bit and I think there are kids who do come to school consistently and there are kids that miss," explained 8th grade student Baylie Farmer. "The kids that miss school oftentimes... maybe need a break."