Two students from the First Ring Student Leadership Institute (FRSLI) took the national stage in April to present original research at the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting—the largest education research conference in the world.
Florin Socol-Boeriu, a senior at Brooklyn High School, and Nandi Grant, now a freshman at the University of Toledo, shared findings from a statewide study on chronic absenteeism in Ohio high schools. Their project was conducted during their time as Year 2 students in FRSLI, a youth research and leadership program coordinated by the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Northeast Ohio and the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University.
Why It Matters:
Despite the return to in-person learning after COVID-19, chronic absenteeism in Ohio remains historically high—especially among students of color, those with disabilities, and students from low-income families. Florin and Nandi wanted to understand why—and what could be done about it.
What They Did:
The students helped design a 36-item survey that was distributed to high schools across the state. Nearly 3,000 students from 40 schools responded. With help from university partners, the team analyzed the data using two types of statistical models to identify what factors predicted absences and chronic absenteeism (defined as missing 10% or more of the school year).
Key Findings:
Distance Matters: Students who lived farther from school missed significantly more days. Those who relied on public transportation were four times as likely to be chronically absent.
Engagement Helps: Students who played sports or had classes taught in their preferred learning style (mostly visual or kinesthetic) had better attendance.
Family Support Is Crucial: The single strongest predictor of good attendance was whether students believed their parents cared about them going to school.
Social Media Usage: More time on social media was linked to more absences.
More Than Just a Presentation:
In addition to AERA, the FRSLI team has shared their findings with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, the Ohio School Boards Association, and other education leaders. Their goal? To turn evidence into action.
“These students brought empirical evidence and lived experience together in a way few researchers can,” said Dr. Adam Voight, Director of the Center for Urban Education. “They showed that student voice isn’t just valuable—it’s vital.”
The First Ring Student Leadership Institute is an initiative of the First Ring Schools Collaborative, which supports student leadership and community-based research in the school districts surrounding Cleveland.
Pictured Above: Nandi Grant; Florin Socol-Boeriu; Dr. Adam Voight, Director of the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University; Dr. Keith Bell, Sr., Director of Leadership Services at the ESC of Northeast Ohio; Xiaona Jin, Research Assistant at the Center for Urban Education