Hedy Nai-Lin Chang

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Hedy Nai-Lin Chang
Chief Executive Officer,
Attendance Works

Hedy Nai-Lin Chang is the founder and chief executive officer of Attendance Works, a national and state initiative aimed at advancing student success by addressing chronic absence. She co-authored the seminal report "Present, Engaged and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades," as well as numerous other articles about student attendance. Deeply committed to promoting two-generation solutions to achieving a more just and equitable society, Chang has spent more than two decades working in the fields of family support, family economic success, education, and child development. She served as a senior program officer at the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and as co-director of California Tomorrow. In 2024, she was named as the Policy Leader of the Year by the National Association of State Boards of Education. Chang received her MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.

updated 2026

    Contributing topics
    Education finance
    Educational governance & policy
    Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
    Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
    Contributing initiatives
    CORE-PACE Research Partnership
    COVID-19 Recovery
    Commentary by Hedy Nai-Lin Chang
    : A Tiered Approach to Ensuring Students Are Present, Engaged, and Supported in the 2020–21 School Year
    : Measuring Daily Attendance and Participation During COVID-19: An Invaluable Tool for Reducing Educational Inequity
    Hedy Nai-Lin Chang in the Media
    Covid’s Long Shadow in California: Chronic Absences, Student Depression and the Limits of Money
     | EdSource
    Attendance is a Bright Spot in the Latest California School Dashboard
     | CalMatters
    How Are Students Doing? New California School Dashboard is Out
     | CalMatters
    Disparities in ‘Unexcused’ Absences Deepen Education Inequities
     | EdSource
    Students are Chronically Absent Across the Country. COVID Seems to Have Made It Worse.
     | ABC News
    Publications by Hedy Nai-Lin Chang
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    Unpacking California's Chronic Absence Crisis through 2024–25
    Eight Key Facts
    This infographic examines chronic absence trends in California through 2024–25, nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although rates have declined from their 2021–22 peak, nearly one in five students remains chronically absent—well above…
    Thumbnail
    Unpacking California’s Chronic Absence Crisis Through 2023–24
    Seven Key Facts
    Absenteeism soared in California and nationally in the wake of the pandemic, and addressing this extraordinary increase is crucial to helping students catch up academically. Using data available from the California Department of Education and…
    Unpacking California’s Chronic Absence Crisis Through 2022–23: Seven Key Facts
    Unpacking California’s Chronic Absence Crisis Through 2022–23
    Seven Key Facts
    Chronic absenteeism has soared in California and nationally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and addressing this extraordinary increase is crucial to helping students catch up academically. Using data available from the California Department of…
    Disparities in Unexcused Absences Across California Schools
    Disparities in Unexcused Absences Across California Schools
    This report finds that improving school attendance is crucial, especially with the increase in chronic absence. Data on unexcused absences should be used to create a more preventive, problem-solving, and equitable response to poor attendance.…