Learn how missing school affects kids—and how Whirlpool has helped
What is chronic absenteeism?
Chronic absenteeism is defined as students who miss at least 10% of the school year—about 18–20 days—and can translate into them having difficulty learning to read by the third grade, achieving in middle school and graduating from high school.1
Hear from developmental psychologist and researcher Dr. Richard Rende, Ph.D to learn more.
Being absent increases the risk of dropping out
Thousands of kids miss school every day because they don’t have clean clothes to wear, putting them at risk of falling behind.
16 million
An estimated 16 million students across the country are impacted by chronic absenteeism.2
75%
75% of U.S. elementary schools reported an increase in chronic absenteeism since 2019.3
2x
For each year that a student is chronically absent, their odds of dropping out nearly double.4
Making a difference in students’ lives, one laundry load at a time
Learn more about how the Care Counts™ Laundry Program collaborates with Teach For America to establish the program, install commercial laundry pairs and choose participants with help from principals, teachers and other trusted community members.
Program success so far
Whirlpool has been donating washers, dryers and laundry supplies to schools since 2015, and the Care Counts™ Laundry Program continues to expand to get even more kids access to clean clothes.
10,000+
loads of laundry washed
50,000+
students given laundry access
150+
schools across 40 states
80%
of high-risk students who participated increased their attendance by an average of 16 days.5
Over 60%
of participating high-risk students were no longer at risk for chronic absenteeism at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year.5
78%
of high-risk students participating in their second year in the program were reported to be no longer chronically absent.5
1. https://www.aft.org/childrens-health-safety-and-well-being/childrens-access-care/chronic-absenteeism
2. https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Attendance-Works-Policy-Brief-2023_072723.pdf
3. National Center for Education Statistics, May 2022. Data were collected from a total of 846 participating schools between May 10 and May 24, 2022.
4. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/west/relwestFiles/pdf/508_UEPC_Chronic_Absenteeism_Research_Brief.pdf
5. Data considers only 2022–2023 school year results according to Impact YOY data.
