AUTHOR=Gentle-Genitty Carolyn, Taylor James, Renguette Corinne TITLE=A Change in the Frame: From Absenteeism to Attendance JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education VOLUME=4 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00161 DOI=10.3389/feduc.2019.00161 ISSN=2504-284X ABSTRACT=School attendance is important for student long-term academic and career success. However, in the U.S., our current practice often disenfranchises more at-risk students than it helps. Students slated for suspension and expulsion are often recipients of these practices. This manuscript offers a recommended change in how we frame student absenteeism and attendance using attendance markers and conceptual information by identifying the discrepancies, proposing options, and recommending a new way to actively leverage attendance data (not absenteeism data) for proactive student support. Particular attention is paid to how excused and unexcused absences and in-school suspensions are treated. An emerging pivot program, the Evaluation and Support Program, engages students while they receive school services, community support, and complete consequences is discussed as a possible, promising intervention.