Oakland Unified said yesterday that it's seeing an improvement in attendance.
But according to data that OUSD shared with KALW, the numbers for the first month of school are about the same as last year over the same period.
OUSD is not alone. Districts across California are struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels. And that’s a big problem in a state where funding is tied directly to students showing up to class.
San Francisco Unified said student absences cost it 60 million dollars in state funding last year.
Jessica Gunderson, who works in education policy said, "You have this cycle where it takes more money to catch kids up, but you're also losing money when students aren't there."
But this year, there’s a new way for schools to get back some of that lost money.
California just launched an attendance recovery policy. It allows students who have missed class to make it up after school. And school districts get to recoup some of the funding they lose when kids are absent.
"This is pretty unheard of, that you could make up school day hours," said Jessica.
For the hours to count, these classes need to be taught in-person by a credentialed teacher and be on par with regular classroom instruction. Jessica said it will be up to local school districts to guide what that means.
