It is morning at Ådalens School in Frederikssund. Loud children’s voices and backpacks fill the corridors as about 100 children arrive at the same time in the different buildings. For a second-grade girl, it becomes too much. She doesn’t want to be dropped off. When it succeeds, it is with resistance, tears, and fear in her eyes. The principal worries it could develop into serious school absenteeism if action isn’t taken quickly.
School absenteeism is a growing problem in Denmark. One in five students has more than 10 percent absence, the equivalent of more than 20 school days a year. In Frederikssund Municipality, it is one in three. At the same time, many schools say they lack a systematic, consistent way to address troubling patterns of absence.
