Salem schools tackle high student absenteeism

As the school year kicks off, Salem-Keizer is sending a simple message to students and parents: show up.

Nearly one-third of local students were chronically absent last school year, meaning they missed two or more days of school every month. That’s more than 13,000 kids district-wide who regularly missed school.

Absentee rates are significantly higher among high schoolers, with half of seniors district-wide being chronically absent.

To reduce that number, the district Wednesday launched “Every…