Statement from Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers,
On ‘Tales of Teacher Absence’

The Center for American Progress today released a report on the cost of teacher absence and its impact on student achievement.

WASHINGTON – The Center for American Progress (CAP) report, “Tales of Teacher Absences,” serves as a reminder that teacher absenteeism and its effect on schoolchildren are important concerns. While thoughtfully written policies can help, the best ways to address the overall issue of teacher attendance are to develop preventive healthcare and family-friendly policies and, as always, to develop a culture of professionalism in our schools.

As the CAP report acknowledges, teacher absence is a symptom of greater problems in some schools. Ineffective principals, unsafe or disorderly schools, deteriorating building conditions, and a student population without adequate healthcare—these factors all contribute to both teacher absenteeism and lowered student performance.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) believes that better healthcare and family-friendly leave policies are essential to limiting illness and absence. The CAP report acknowledges that “not enough is known about the appropriate level of leave privileges.” And while it is generally true that fewer absences are better for student learning, sometimes the opposite is true. When teachers come to school sick, it can lead to reduced productivity and increased student illness.

The AFT agrees with CAP’s recommendation to experiment with various incentive absence policies that are intended to bring down teacher absences. We are very open to doing this through the collective bargaining process. AFT locals across the county have negotiated incentive plans that reflect a willingness to collaborate with district officials on the issue.

We are somewhat troubled by the rather sensationalized way the report frames one particular statistic. Based on the finding that teachers are absent an average of once per month, the report concludes that this means, over the course of 12 years in school, a student will be taught approximately two-thirds of one year by a substitute teacher. Given that an average of one absence a month includes any long-term absences a teacher may have during his or her career, it is clear that most teachers exhibit very responsible patterns of attendance. One therefore wonders why the one-absence-a-month statistic is framed in such a sensationalized way. 

The overwhelming percentage of teachers are very professional in the way they handle days off. When encouraged by effective school leaders to function as professionals, teachers will plan ahead to ensure that both unanticipated and scheduled absences have a minimal impact on student learning.

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