Schools See Big Drop in Attendance as Students Stay Away, Citing Covid-19
Source: Wall Street Journal
Many students in kindergarten through 12th grade are out sick because of Covid-19 or are being kept home by anxious parents, as the Omicron variant surges, officials say. Remote learning often isnt being offered anymore for students who are home. Empty desks create a quandary for teachers, who must decide whether to push ahead with lesson plans knowing a large number of their students will need to catch up.
New York City, the nations largest school district, saw its overall attendance rate fall below 70% when classes resumed after the winter holidays, far beneath the districts pre-pandemic average of over 91% students at school each day. Many students missed class because of fears of contracting the virus or because they or a family member had tested positive, teachers said.
Theres never been anything like this, said Arthur Goldstein, a teacher at Francis Lewis High School in Queens, N.Y., referring to the sustained low attendance. He has taught in New York City for 37 years and held classes in the aftermath of disasters, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-see-big-drop-in-attendance-as-students-stay-away-citing-covid-19-11641988802?mod=djemalertNEWS
QED
(2,749 posts)It's been like this all week. Catching them up will be fun.
Okay so that last part was sarcastic. I can't figure out which is the sarcasm smilie on my phone.
Igel
(35,337 posts)Tough to generalize. Some are just absent. Why? Dunno.
Some for COVID.
Some for school activities.
Texas. North of Houston.
Most are missing maybe 10%. (We won't discuss students who transferred in from out of district. "We moved in late December. Is showing up 5 days in the semester a problem?" "Yes. There's a test tomorrow."
MichMan
(11,959 posts)School funding in most states is based on attendance.
It would save money.
Then again, so would loss of attendance as kids transfer to private/non-state charter schools.
Depends on the teacher and school, to be honest. Along with the district's financial acumen.