The Brighter Side of Education Podcast: Data Driven Solutions for Chronic Absenteeism with Innovator Chris Hull

By: Otus Team

Chronic absenteeism is often treated as a simple numbers problem, but as Chris Hull explains, the real work begins once you understand the stories behind those numbers. On The Brighter Side of Education podcast, Chris joined Dr. Lisa Hassler to explore how attendance connects to academics, behavior, engagement, and even student passions. When those pieces come together in one place, educators can move from reacting to absences to uncovering the conditions that shape them. The conversation highlights how unified data, thoughtful communication, and even emerging AI tools can help schools intervene earlier and support students more fully.

3 big lessons for K-12 leaders

Attendance data becomes more powerful when it reveals patterns

For Chris, the significance of attendance lies in what it helps uncover. A missed morning might relate to transportation issues, a shift in engagement, a gap in reading skills, or something happening at home. When attendance data sits alongside academic performance, behavior, and daily classroom activity, those patterns become much clearer. Educators can identify early signals, notice when small issues begin to cluster, and ask more precise questions that lead to meaningful solutions.

“I have four kids of my own, and the most important piece is you want kids to love to go to school so that they can begin to love to learn. Learning how to engage with a student is really important because if you know what they are passionate about, and I believe every child has a passion, it's just about uncovering it. Is it a love for sports? Is it a love for music? Is it a love for a certain artist or a certain video game? Once you're able to tap into a passion and you're able to make it relatable these teachable skills, they're gonna begin to feel successful.”

A whole-child view helps teachers understand the why behind student behavior

Knowing each student beyond their surface-level indicators is key to successful teaching and learning. That’s precisely why Otus creates a student profile that stays with a child over time, carrying academic history, interventions, activities, demographic information, and even notes about passions or personal experiences. That context helps teachers interpret behavior, personalize learning, and avoid losing crucial information in year-to-year transitions.

A complete picture allows educators to respond to attendance patterns with empathy rather than assumptions, which can strengthen relationships before challenges escalate.

“I can see their demographic information. I can see their academic information. I can see their attendance information. But then I also have this kind of collection of these past notes and information that's given from teacher to teacher. And it allows you to, again, do so much more. Those are the key pieces of painting that complete picture.”

Early warning systems thrive when data and human connection work together

One of the central themes in most any conversation with Chris is the idea that technology should make it easier to act, not harder. When schools unify their data, they can clearly see which interventions are helping, which groups need attention, and what root causes may be hiding beneath the surface. For example, students tend to perform better throughout the day after joining a morning intervention over breakfast. That simple observation raises an important question: how many students are missing their morning meal?

Districts might also uncover trends by comparing specific groups, such as students with IEPs, those involved in after-school programs, or students participating in sports. Looking at these groups side by side helps leaders identify needs that would otherwise remain hidden. In some cases, the data points in an unexpected direction. Teacher absenteeism, for instance, can create its own ripple effect on student attendance and engagement. Together, these insights help schools intervene earlier, understand root causes more clearly, and design supports that actually change the trajectory of attendance.