Stephen Wakefield 
BALTIMORE, Md. — May 19, 2026 — Concentric Educational Solutions today announced the launch of its 90-Day Summer Pilot Program, a focused, research-driven initiative designed to dramatically reduce chronic absenteeism and reengage K–12 students before the first day of fall classes. The national pilot cohort will be led by Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D., Chief of Research at Concentric Educational Solutions and one of the nation’s foremost experts on chronic absenteeism, and is available to participating school districts at $15,000 per school.
Chronic absenteeism, defined by the U.S. Department of Education as missing 10% or more of school days, emerged as a serious challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 31% in 2021–22. While rates have declined to 23% in 2024–25, too many students continue to miss too much school.
Concentric recognizes that these numbers reflect deeper, often hidden barriers, including housing instability, health issues, transportation gaps, trauma, and caregiving responsibilities, that communication-based attendance solutions alone cannot address. The Summer Pilot Program is designed to close that gap, giving districts the capacity to rebuild relationships, identify root causes, and realign systems of student support before the new school year begins.
The 90-Day Summer Pilot includes three core service components:
- District-wide root-cause analysis led by Dr. Toldson, drawing on ethnographic research and real-time engagement data to uncover the specific factors driving student disengagement in each participating community.
- Pilot school implementation, in which Concentric’s trained community support team provides hands-on, on-the-ground outreach throughout the summer—including home visits, relationship-based phone outreach, and personalized family engagement—to reconnect students before the school year begins.
- Comprehensive reporting and recommendations that translate community insight into actionable reengagement strategies, equipping district leaders with a clear path forward for the fall and beyond.
“The summer months are not downtime. They are the opportunity to do the most important work of the year: reconnecting disengaged students with learning,” said Molly Hebert Loyd, CEO of Concentric Educational Solutions. “The 90-Day Summer Pilot Program gives districts the time, the tools, and the trusted human presence to reach those families now, before another school year starts with students already left behind.”
Districts interested in joining the 90-Day Summer Pilot Program are invited to visit the initiative’s website today.
To learn more about Concentric Educational Solutions’ approach to combating chronic absenteeism, visit the company’s website, follow the organization on X, or connect on LinkedIn.
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