This dissertation examines the effects of neighborhood characteristics on Detroit Public School Community District students' attendance rates for the 2018-19 school year. First, I analyze the effects of daylight savings time, relative to school start time, on absences for elementary and middle school students. By observing the natural change in clocks, while keeping school start time constant, I find that average absences decrease when students gain an hour of sleep and increase when they lose an hour of sleep. This implies that a later school start time can lead to academic and social benefits for students. Next, I focus on the effects of crime near a students' home and near a students' school. I find that females and males respond differently to violent crimes near their home and students may be less likely to be absent, following an incident, because school is safer than home. I find that elementary and middle school students are negatively effected by crimes that occur near school. Lastly, I find that students are not always effected by violent incidents. This may suggest that students become desensitized to repeated exposure of violent incidents that occur near their home or school. These findings can help shape school policy to build the best environment for students. [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.]