School attendance is key to academic success. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, national data indicate more students have been chronically absent, defined by experts as missing 15 days or more during the school year. Lower attendance numbers in metro Atlanta in early January, amid the omicron surge, show that absences remain a hurdle for schools.

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Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)