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Absenteeism a continuing problem for California schools

ajalfaro
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Flickr / Creative Commons

EdSource reports absenteeism for this school year appears to be a nagging problem, according to data collected by School Innovations & Achievement, a software company that contracts with districts to collect and analyze their attendance data.

An analysis of 30 districts statewide, that the company says demographically represents the state, shows that nearly a third of public school students were chronically absent. This means that as of late March, they had missed 10 percent or more of the school year. That's slightly lower than the same point last year. Before the pandemic, only 13-and-a-half percent of students were counted as chronically absent at that time of year.

School Innovations & Achievement declined to identify the districts included in the sample, citing student privacy. The sample has "all types of district configurations to reflect what is happening in districts across the state," said Tony Wold, chief business officer in residence.

The company's survey surfaced last week during a board meeting in West Contra Costa Unified School District in the East Bay. Officials pointed to the statewide data to show that the district's chronic absentee rate of 33 percent this year tracks with what's happening statewide.

The firm's analysis also shows that in addition to the rise in the number of chronically absent students, school attendance has failed to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.