"While skipping out on Play-Doh and coloring might not sound serious, chronic absenteeism - defined as missing at least 10% of school days - in the early years can have long-term impacts on literacy, future educational success and social-emotional development. Studies have found that students who are chronically absent in kindergarten are less likely to read and count proficiently by the end of third grade, and the declines are particularly acute among English-language learners."
"The report by Los Angeles-based nonprofit Families in Schools in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, focused on the chronic absenteeism of Latino children, who make up 73% of the students in the district. A series of parent focus groups offered insights into why rates have remained high - and suggested some potential solutions. When parents said their child missed school for an array of reasons, most cited illness and chronic health conditions, which they didn't generally associate with a problematic absence."
Kindergartners and transitional kindergartners in California show the highest chronic absenteeism, defined as missing at least 10% of school days. Chronic absence in early years undermines literacy, math proficiency by third grade, and social-emotional development, with especially acute declines for English-language learners. Latino children represent 73% of students in the Los Angeles district where focus groups identified common reasons for missed days. Parents most often cited illness and chronic health conditions and reported unclear understanding of what constitutes a problematic absence. Absenteeism peaked during the pandemic and, while rates have fallen, significant levels persist.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]