The Advanced Technical Center, now in its second year, is not like most high schools in the District — or even the country. Teens practice taking vitals on medical dummies and coding in computer labs. Its entire curriculum is designed to provide a training ground for students pursuing high-demand careers in cybersecurity and nursing.

But the school also offers a possible solution to D.C.’s attendance crisis: students who took classes at the ATC last year attended nearly 13 more days of school than their peers who did not, according to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The teens — who split their time between the ATC and their primary high schools — said they appreciate the school’s climate, their relationships with teachers and staff, and the chance to study their interests.

Those factors are not only motivating students to show up for their career prep classes, but also the courses at their regular high schools, the data suggests. The ATC has advisers who closely monitor each student’s attendance, as well.

Officials noted the analysis isn’t perfect — enrollment at the ATC is small and teens elect on their own to attend. But it remains a promising sign for officials desperate for ways to get students to come to school. Chronic absenteeism, which hit a high during the pandemic, has inched downward in recent years. But it remains particularly concerning at the high school level; 60 percent of D.C. teens missed at least 18 days of school last year.

D.C. faces an attendance crisis. Its leaders are struggling to solve it.

“It’s really clear for them why they’re here. And when they start to lose sight of the ‘why,’ we have our support systems here to help bring them back on track,” said Andrea Zimmermann, the school’s administrator. Students said they see an obvious benefit to investing the extra time and work, including industry credentials, paid internships and scholarships. They earn college credits that are aligned with the cybersecurity program at the University of the District of Columbia or nursing track at Trinity Washington University.

Those perks are what drew Charlie Irizarry, a ninth grader who is studying nursing.

“It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to work here with all these incredible students and get to learn about something I’m passionate about before going on to pursue it, to get a little bit of a head start and some background knowledge to help me out when I do get to college and maybe some help with scholarships,” she said. Students who finish the program and then attend Trinity after graduation can receive $15,000 each year in scholarships.

Just like at a normal high school, the teens are expected to show up every day. Students spend part of the school day at the ATC — sessions are offered in the morning, midmorning and afternoon — and spend the rest of the day at their primary high schools. The ATC provides taxi or bus transportation during the day.

There are few entrance requirements so that more students are encouraged to apply, Zimmermann said. They mainly need to be on track for graduation and have space in their schedules. Most of the students come from Bell, Dunbar and Eastern high schools, and Friendship Collegiate Academy, Paul and Sojourner Truth public charter schools.

Students said they come to school because they like environment at the ATC, which feels more supportive than the average high school. Teachers and students treat each other with respect.

“School is supposed to be a safe space and a lot of these kids do not feel like school is a safe space at all,” said Christa Cummings, an eleventh grader on the cybersecurity track. “The way that they treat you here … feels like a family. It feels way more intentional and personal with everything that they do. I feel like, if we had more administrators that cared like how they do at ATC, a lot more kids would be more involved in the things that happen in the school, in their school environments.”

Chris Nelson, also a junior studying cybersecurity, said he likes the challenge the ATC offers.

“When you come here, it puts you in a mind-set of setting high expectations for yourself and just like becoming the best version of yourself,” said Nelson, also a student at Paul Public Charter School. “This is what I want to do. This is what I want to be. This is going to help me become the person that I want to be in the future. This is going to help me provide for my family.”

Two in five D.C. students were chronically absent last year, data show

The ATC is part of a larger effort by the city to improve high schools and offer students more opportunities to explore their interests before college. Officials have poured $30 million in pandemic recovery dollars into internship, dual-enrollment and career training programs. Many leaders hope such investments will pay off in improved attendance.

Forty-three percent of students across D.C. were chronically absent from classrooms last school year, down from 48 percent during the 2021-22 school year. There are myriad reasons students are missing chunks of school, but teachers have noticed more students — particularly older ones — just don’t think being there is important.

Schools, as a result, are under growing pressure to make classrooms places where students want to be.

“It is our job to ensure that schools are welcoming and are engaging for kids,” Paul Kihn, D.C.’s deputy mayor for education, said in a December interview about attendance. “We’ve just got to make sure schools are the best possible environments for them to be in, so where they’re actively choosing, they choose to be in rather than out.”

Too few D.C. students finish college. This program aims to change that.

That is part of the formula at the ATC, according to Clifton Martin, state director of career and technical education at the superintendent’s office. The student body is small, so adults in the building know every child’s name. Teachers, administrators and staff frequently check in on students and ask them how they are doing.

“I think a lot of students feel like they get lost and they don’t have someone who’s going to keep an eye on them, so they can miss five days in a row,” he said.

Zimmermann added that if a student starts to miss classes, ATC staff are in touch with the child’s primary high school and family — not only to get the student back, but also to understand why they aren’t getting there. After she learned some students lived more than an hour on public transit from the ATC, officials set up a morning pickup service so they could get to school on time. Rides are provided in the afternoon, as well. “So there’s interventions in place, kind of speed bumps to catch kids and get them back on course, support them.”

Martin added that understanding what students want in school is also an important driver of attendance.

“Student voice is important. So, all schools can’t have a cybersecurity program, they all can’t have a nursing program,” he said. “But there are things that they can do inside the school, you know, talking to the students, figuring out what they want in the building that will bring them in there.”