There’s good news about truancy in D.C. Public Schools, but there is still a lot of work to be done, according to a new report from the superintendent’s office.
Interim State Superintendent of Education, Antoinette Mitchell, said in the report, the city’s truancy rate, kids missing 10 days or more of the school year, has fallen from about 37% last year to 30% today. It’s now close to what it was before the pandemic.
The percentage of students chronically absent, missing class for 10% of the school year, has also dropped from 43.1% to 39.2%. That percentage, however, is still higher than pre-pandemic numbers and 56% of D.C. high schoolers are still chronically absent, according to the report.
In the report, Mitchell claims that “this decline was particularly driven by decreases in unexcused absences among middle and high school students.” She also pointed to data that shows how chronic absenteeism starts early, with students that were chronically absent in preschool missing more of kindergarten and missing foundational steps of learning.
“When I talk to educators about this on school visits, they confirm the challenge of engaging some preschool parents who feel that pre-K attendance doesn’t matter,” Mitchell wrote. “But the research is clear: every day counts, even in pre-kindergarten.”
D.C. City Council Chair Phil Mendelson, speaking at a hearing on the report, told 7News that there’s still work to be done.
“We need continual oversight on our schools because absenteeism is still very high,” he said. Mendelson also expressed concern over the numbers at some schools where students are most at risk.
“Schools east of the river with high proportion of low income or at risk students, and there’s schools with like 60% absenteeism,” he said.
Several D.C. educators spoke at the meeting, including Belicia Reaves, the Executive Director at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Northeast. She said one way to help kids get to school is to clear away any transportation issues.
“We urge the council to consider flexible, innovative student transportation programs for schools,” Reaves said. MacFarland Middle School principal Lucas Cooke, said another way to keep improving absenteeism levels is improving the school environment.
“It is my job and the job of the MacFarland Middle School staff to ensure that students feel safe at school, have a sense of belonging, and have trusted adults that they can rely on when they need help,” he said.
One big takeaway from the meeting is that teachers, parents and the community must be involved to fix the truancy problem.
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