By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Chronic absenteeism in Tucson Unified School District has spiked to 44% in 2025, reversing recent progress and marking the biggest increase since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Students are deemed chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school year. That equals 18 days of school per year or nine per semester.
In 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50% of TUSD students were chronically absent. The district made progress, dropping the rate to 34% in 2024. But in 2025, the most recent data available, chronic absenteeism jumped back up to 44%.
Nonprofit loses funding, leaves Tucson
The spike comes as Higher Ground, a Tucson nonprofit that worked to reduce chronic absenteeism for nearly two decades, lost $2.3 million in state funding. The nonprofit stopped working directly with Tucson schools and moved to Phoenix.
Jansen Azarias-Suzumoto co-founded Higher Ground 18 years ago. He said chronic absenteeism impacts every student and teacher. When students struggle, they lash out.
“Then you’re looking at a snowball of impact because now they’re doing behaviors out of frustration and impacting the whole classroom,” Azarias-Suzumoto said.
His solution was an after-school program that included judo, art, music, and archery.
“And that was a way we would use to ensure kids would want to come to school and actually engage and learn different skills,” Azarias-Suzumoto said.
The nonprofit grew from there, tackling each family’s need to get students back in class.
Former students say nonprofit kept them in school
Britney Kovrig was one of those students. Her father was incarcerated for most of her life.
“We lived with my mom, a single mom to three. She held down about two to three jobs, depending on when you asked her. And that’s kind of what we were dealing with at that time,” Kovrig said.
Kovrig’s mother struggled to drive her to school. Then, Higher Ground stepped in.
“They would have either staff or volunteers who were there either pick us up and take us there when it was difficult to do so,” Kovrig said.
Kovrig, now a victim advocate at the Pima County Attorney’s Office, said she worries about students like her who will be left behind.
“It scares me to think about it in a way because there wouldn’t have been someone there to catch me when I was slipping,” Kovrig said.
Tucson Police Department Patrol Officer Eli Lopez also benefited from Higher Ground. When he was young, his mother struggled with substance abuse.
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“We had a big falling out within our family, so me and my five siblings we moved into my grandmother’s house, and that was the summer after eighth grade, going into freshman year,” Lopez said.
Lopez is the oldest and wanted to help out at home. So, he started ditching school.
“Without realizing, you had to take on the dad role inside of the house,” Lopez said.
Higher Ground, however, was working at Lopez’s school. The nonprofit set up weekly meetings with Lopez and his grandmother.
“They said, you know, you have to set an example for your younger siblings. That just put stuff in perspective, like it’s not just for me – it’s also for them,” Lopez said.
Nonprofit moves to Phoenix, sees early success
Higher Ground tackled family issues like this in Tucson for nearly a decade. Azarias-Suzumoto said the nonprofit was able to reduce chronic absenteeism by up to 17% at one school.
“That’s because kids are showing up to classrooms ready to learn because all the other academic issues are resolved,” Azarias-Suzumoto said.
After losing state funding last year, a private donor in Phoenix heard of the nonprofit and decided to step in. Higher Ground is now operating in the Roosevelt School District.
Aimee Marques, a principal at Percy L. Julian Elementary, said Higher Ground is already reducing behavior problems and boosting attendance.
“We have a lot of students that either are close to homelessness or are currently experiencing homelessness, and then we also have students that struggle with transportation, basic needs, clothing, access to electricity,” Marques said.
Once students are in class, she can work on helping them succeed.
“We have to be able to address those needs first in order to create an environment where students are really able to learn and achieve,” Marques said.
TUSD did not respond to requests for comment about the spike in absenteeism.
Isabela Lisco is a Report for America corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.
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