As America returns to school, thousands of students are absent from classrooms

<p>With schools starting in-person, teachers and community leaders are on an unprecedented quest to find missing students who stopped attending school due to the pandemic.</p><p>USA TODAY reporters Erin Richards and Alia Wong talk with 5 Things host Shannon Rae Green about how educators are reconnecting with students to ensure they stay in school. Read Erin's story <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2021/08/16/first-day-of-school-kids-missing-covid/5565167001/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> and Alia's story <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/staff/3781960001/alia-wong/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Episode transcript <a href="https://art19.com/shows/49931e2d-39a7-42b0-bfbc-67cb9b6b615b/episodes/bc0f748b-de88-40a6-bc13-9dfd01da409b/embed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linked here</a>.</p><p>Also available at <a href="https://art19.com/shows/5-things" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">art19.com/shows/5-Things</a>.</p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>