941 - Back to School: How Vermont is Addressing Chronic Absence

Public Health On Call

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

News, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.6 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

About this episode:

Post-pandemic rates of absenteeism continue to climb across the country as many students navigate concerns that include anxiety and food insecurity. One state is fostering new partnerships and using a public health approach to directly address hurdles to school attendance. In this episode: Pediatricians Deanna Haag and Heidi Schumacher detail their work alongside educators, policymakers, and other medical professionals to advance health and educational equity across rural Vermont.

Guest:

Dr. Deanna Haag is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont and a pediatrician at Monarch Maples Pediatrics in Enosburg Falls, VT.

Dr. Heidi Schumacher is a general pediatrician and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont. She serves as faculty for the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, a statewide initiative focused on improving children's health outcomes.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.

Show links and related content:

Every Day Counts: Reducing Absenteeism in Vermont's School—University of Vermont Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships
All in for Attendance: Education and Public Health Leaders Release Framework to Address Chronic Absence from Schools—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Chronic Absenteeism Is a Vital Sign for Kids' Health. New Framework Seeks a Cure—The 74

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Public Health On Call, a podcast from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
0:05.8	where we bring evidence, experience, and perspective to make sense of today's leading health challenges.
0:16.1	If you have questions or ideas for us, please send an email to public health question at jhhhu.edu.
0:23.7	That's public health question at jhhu.edu for future podcast episodes.
0:31.7	This is Lindsay Smith Rogers.
0:34.0	Today, how one state is treating absenteeism as a public health challenge.
0:38.9	Dr. Heidi Schumacher is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont.
0:43.7	Dr. D.N. Haig is a pediatrician at Monarch Maples Pediatrics in Enosburg, Vermont.
0:49.2	They talk with Dr. Josh Sharstein about a new effort for pediatricians to work with families
0:53.9	to help their children
0:54.9	attend school every day. Let's listen. Dr. Heidi Schumacher, Dr. Dan Hague, thank you so much for
1:01.6	joining me on public health on call to talk about education and health, specifically how pediatricians
1:09.6	can help kids stay in school.
1:12.2	I want to start with you, Dr. Schumacher.
1:15.1	You have worked both in school systems and in pediatric clinics.
1:19.5	I understand that absenteeism is a big challenge, particularly after the pandemic.
1:24.6	Many school systems are seeing a lot of kids not showing up to class.
1:30.7	Why is this an issue for pediatricians?
1:36.2	Thank you so much, Josh, for having us on. I guess where I would start is that we know that healthy bodies in minds are that foundations of academic success. And we also know that success
1:41.6	in school is one of the leading predictors of long-term health and
1:45.3	well-being for youth as they grow into adulthood. And so I think both Deanne and I feel pretty
1:50.7	passionately about this space because we feel like if we're going to achieve our goals as pediatricians
	...

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