Rising rates of chronic absenteeism across the nation underscore the need to explore the impact of attendance on the foundational literacy skills of kindergarten students. The absence of young learners from school jeopardizes essential instruction pivotal for literacy development. This study draws on a quantitative correlational approach and delves into the relationship between absenteeism and kindergarten students' performance on a benchmark reading assessment. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory is a theoretical framework used to understand human development as a series of interconnected external systems that influence individual growth, beginning with immediate microsystems and expanding to broader exosystems. LinkIt! Form C archived data was used to decipher the link between the frequency of absences and the literacy outcomes of kindergarten students. The findings illustrate absenteeism's significance and adverse effect on reading achievement at the foundational level. While acknowledging the constraints of potential data inaccuracies, challenges of verifying causation, and the possible transcendence of extraneous variables, this study illuminates the potential influences that cut across Bronfenbrenner's ecological layers, urging a broader investigative lens. Future research is called upon to quantify the extent of the correlation between absenteeism and reading achievement for more expansive and generalizable insights. This research serves as a clarion call to education stakeholders to proactively combat chronic absenteeism head-on to mitigate its effect on early literacy development. [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.]