{"id":2022334,"date":"2023-09-05T15:06:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T19:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cure-californias-chronic-absenteeism-with-school-choice\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T15:09:31","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T19:09:31","slug":"cure-californias-chronic-absenteeism-with-school-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cure-californias-chronic-absenteeism-with-school-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Solve California&#8217;s absenteeism issue with school choice."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcure-californias-chronic-absenteeism-with-school-choice%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022334&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>On Aug. 24, EdSource \u200cheld\u200c a \u2064video <a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/2023\/reaching-kindergarten-parents-is-key-to-addressing-dramatic-post-pandemic-rise-in-chronic-absenteeism-panel-says\/696511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">roundtable<\/a> on chronic absenteeism. The online video lasts \u2062just under an\u200b hour.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, they didn\u2019t bring up the main solution: More <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">school choice<\/a>. The real problem is, for many kids, school just is boring. It doesn\u2019t challenge them. That\u2019s only going to \u200dget worse with the recent \u201cdumbing down\u201d \u200dof math education, which I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/california-education-board-dumbs-down-math-instruction-5403696\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> on in The Epoch Times on July 17.<\/p>\n<p>Hedy Nai-Lin Chang, founder and executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.attendanceworks.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Attendance Works<\/a>, led\u2064 off the discussion, providing context. At the national level, she said, about 8 million kids were\u200c chronically \u2062absent before the\u2063 pandemic, about 15 percent. That \u200dhas doubled. \u200d\u201cIn California, actually, we\u200c more than doubled. We went from 12 percent to 30 percent.\u201d That\u2019s a whopping 150 percent increase.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/the-economic-benefits-of-school-choice-5482002\">The Economic Benefits of School Choice<\/a><br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/28\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/wave-of-school-choice-legislation-passes-across-the-us-including-expansions-in-some-states-5404849\">Wave of School\u200d Choice Legislation Passes Across the \u2062US, Including Expansions in Some States<\/a><br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">7\/19\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If you go\u200c by grade level, \u201cIt was 40 percent of our kindergarteners.\u201d But it\u2019s worth pointing out kindergarten is\u2063 not mandatory in\u2063 California. In fact, just a year\u2062 ago Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 70, which would have made it mandatory. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SB-70-VETO.pdf?emrc=bfc511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in his veto message, \u201cWith our state facing lower-than-expected revenues over\u200b the first\u2062 few months of this fiscal \u2062year, it is important to remain disciplined when it comes to spending, particularly spending that is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given the state\u2019s nearly $100 billion surplus flipped to a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-state-budget-2023-2db8442a1d7c0ecc5b6827207c1dad03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$31.5 billion deficit<\/a>, mandatory kindergarten isn\u2019t likely until there\u2019s a\u200d new surplus.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Chang also said high school numbers may be undercounted because kids show\u2063 up for one \u2064period, then skip out. Of course, that\u2019s not exactly \u2062a new practice, as I remember from my \u200down high school days 1970\u201373, although I never did it \u2064myself.<\/p>\n<p>Groups \u201cdisproportionally\u201d affected were Native American, Latino, and black students; two-thirds were Latinos. And there was \u201can enormous increase\u201d among English-language learners. \u201cSomething happened during the pandemic that really \u2064affected our ability to communicate with them.\u201d She said she was\u2062 concerned the belief things would get back to normal after COVID \u201creally was not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some solutions were offered by Tom O\u2019Malley, \u2064superintendent of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modoc.k12.ca.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Modoc Joint Unified School District<\/a> in Alturas, which\u200b has three schools, one each of elementary, middle, and high schools, teaching 230 students. It\u2019s in Modoc County, the most northeastern county in the state. He said his district\u200c is \u201cremote,\u201d\u200b and\u2063 kids have to go 150 miles to Redding to \u2062have their \u2063braces checked, or for other medical services, \u2063which keeps them out of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/people-arent-choosing-michigan-and-thats-hurting-us-mi-gov-candidate-tudor-dixon-blasts-overregulation-education-crisis\/\" title=\"\u2018People Aren\u2019t Choosing Michigan And That\u2019s Hurting Us\u2019: MI Gov Candidate Tudor Dixon Blasts Overregulation, \u2018Education Crisis\u2019\">school longer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Staff and \u2063students walk through a hallway at Buena Park High School in Buena Park, Calif., on Aug. 11,\u2062 2023. (John Fredricks\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>As to solutions, he \u2062said \u201cwe try to\u200b immerse ourselves in their lives and really kind of get to \u200cthe root problem.\u201d That includes having employees \u201cdedicated\u2063 to working with \u200cfamilies\u2062 and having those \u200cconversations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chang cited successful programs\u200b in Connecticut, which found, \u201cSometimes it&#8217;s a light \u200btouch\u201d that is needed to connect the student with\u2062 the teacher. And, \u201cOnce a school\u2063 or a district has over a certain \u2064percentage of kids who are chronically absent,\u201d they mobile \u200ca special team with a multi-tiered approach. Tier One makes sure \u200c\u201cschool\u2019s a \u200bfun place.\u201d And Tier Two is \u201csupport for\u2063 the kids who need something more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another approach has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cure-californias-chronic-absenteeism-with-school-choice\/\" title=\"Solve California's absenteeism issue with school choice.\">teachers \u2064visit students&#8217; homes<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a fabulous program of teachers doing home visits.\u201d But \u201cteachers \u2064were exhausted \u200band \u200dtired and didn\u2019t necessarily have the bandwidth. So they used their data to figure\u2064 out where they needed\u200b to expand resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next came up Ofelia \u201cSofi\u201d Ryan, of the Association of Pupil \u200cServices and Attendance Counselors, to talk about the \u201ctechniques\u201d used in the Los \u200dAngeles Unified \u200cSchool District. \u201cIn L.A., we are child\u200b welfare and attendance counselors,\u201d she said. They do\u200c \u201ca lot of reviewing data so that we can do the interventions. And\u200c as\u2062 child welfare and attendance counselors we do home visits, whole child assessments, family support,\u2064 linkages to basic needs or anything that the family may need to ensure that we address all the barriers that are preventing the children from being in school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd very importantly, the\u200c pandemic opened everybody\u2019s eyes and highlighted child welfare and the need to\u2062 have students addressing family structure and student needs. \u2064Because we learned\u2063 during the pandemic that many children [didn&#8217;t have] \u2064an \u2062English speaker taking care of\u2063 them. For example, we had parents who left home at \u2062four in the morning to return about 11 o&#8217;clock at night because they \u2062have two jobs. And pretty much, there is\u200b someone that the child may reach for an emergency, but not someone \u200bwho can supervise \u200dand provide support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That statement shows how extensively the government has \u200dtaken over \u200dthe role of the family in\u200d these children\u2019s lives. All California schools also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cde.ca.gov\/ls\/nu\/sn\/cauniversalmeals.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">provide<\/a> free breakfasts and lunches for all students, \u2063regardless of income.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the EdSource panel did not provide more creative ways to increase attendance. The main one would be Arizona-style universal school choice, called the Empowerment Scholarship Program, first implemented\u2062 this new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brian-kolfage-one-florida-school-combated-covid-by-going-back-to-normal-as-a-result-the-children-and-teachers-are-safe-and-happy\/\" title=\"Brian Kolfage: One Florida School Combated COVID By Going Back to Normal \u2013 As a Result the Children and Teachers Are Safe and Happy\">school year<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitoltimes.com\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/arizona-can-still-be-the-leader-in-school-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According<\/a> to Arizona Capitol Times, \u201cBecause the scholarship\u200c funds were provided to every K\u201312 student, children from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">low-income families<\/a> and students\u2063 with special needs have much t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Aug. 24, EdSource hosted a video roundtable discussing chronic absenteeism, lasting less than an hour. However, they overlooked a crucial solution: increasing school choice. The underlying issue lies in the lack of engagement and challenge for many students, leading to boredom. This problem is exacerbated by the recent trend of &#8220;dumbing down&#8221; education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1801,"featured_media":2022335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1801"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}