Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, Arkansas had to implement virtual instruction into a face-to-face education system for the first time in the 2020-2021 school year. This unique situation is the setting for this dissertation. It explores how adding virtual education to face-to-face education affected student engagement as measured by student attendance. This measure was chosen because attendance was the standard that the State of Arkansas has selected to meet the standard of the Every Student Succeeds Act for student engagement. The data included attendance percentages from the 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 school years from all Arkansas K-4 and 1-4 schools. A dependent t test was run to examine the data. The test found statistically significant differences during students' 2020-2021 school year attendance rates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]