Oceanside Unified addressing 'chronic absenteeism' ahead of upcoming school year

They're called the attendance team. It’s a group of Oceanside Unified School District staff members, who, for the past several weeks, have been visiting homes, making phone calls, texting, and mailing flyers to families whose children are considered chronically absent.

"We have about 180 days of school each year, and a chronically absent student is someone who has missed 18 to 20 or more days of school per year, which really contributes to them falling behind," said Dr. Jordy Sparks, the district's Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Student Supports.

Of the nearly 16,000 students in the district, last year, more than 3,000 were considered chronically absent, or about 18%.

[cristalvallejo]

It's not the pandemic. You took an entire group of children and relocated them to a school 30 mins away from their home school. No warning, no transitioning, just dumped. I would say that's the biggest contributing factor.