1 month ago
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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - School districts crossed the Central Valley are hoping to ace down connected chronic absenteeism rates for the upcoming schoolhouse year.
It's an contented that has been impacting students and schoolhouse districts since the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to the accepted schoolroom learning environment.
Now, 5 years later, the issue, portion declining, inactive persists.
Attendance and Social Emotional Manager for the Fresno Unified School District, Noreida Perez, said this contented is simply a large precedence for the district.
"We're astatine a spot wherever we're improving our chronic absenteeism, but we're inactive not wherever we privation to be," she said.
Right aft the pandemic, the complaint of chronic absenteeism, defined arsenic students missing much than 10% of the schoolhouse year, accrued dramatically.
Numbers from the authorities amusement that for the 2018 to 2019 schoolhouse year, FUSD had a chronic absenteeism complaint of astir 15.8%.
When students came backmost for the 2021 to 2022 schoolhouse year, the territory says, it jumped to 50.3%. Every schoolhouse twelvemonth since then, those numbers person declined, and present the territory says FUSD's chronic absenteeism complaint is astatine 28.9%.
Perez says this schoolhouse year, FUSD is going to absorption connected connection with parents arsenic portion of a multi-tiered approach. They said this helps them larn much astir wherefore a kid is missing school.
"We person unit successful our territory to supply household engagement hours who supply acquisition to parents astir attendance and the value of that and the transportation to their child's world success," Perez added.
Meanwhile, successful Merced County, the Livingston Union School District said it's starting to spot success.
LUSD said they person decreased their rates from 19% successful 2023 to 14% successful 2024. They accidental they're besides utilizing a multi-step process that starts with making schoolhouse a harmless and amusive place. Maria Torrez Perez said connection with parents astir attendance starts early.
"Parents are partners successful acquisition and we accidental it and we mean it. And we request parents' enactment to nonstop their children to school," she said.
Fresno Unified said they'd similar to spot chronic absenteeism rates autumn to adjacent 20%. They said they promote parents to marque definite the genitor portal is acceptable up, truthful they tin way their child's absences.
