There are meetings you can skip, but missing this one would be ironic. The newly created Iowa Chronic Absenteeism Advisory Council will be meeting monthly at the Pappajohn Higher Education Center. We’re not sure if you get credit for attending if you are only there for part of it. The purpose of the council is to “recommend how to improve attendance in kindergarten through grade three in part to help more students learn to read proficiently by the end of third grade.” Nearly 25 percent of third-graders failed to do that based on the state tests in 2014-15. The Council will meet monthly before making recommendations — such as “come to class” — in November.