A notable decline in UC High’s attendance is causing poor academic performance and sparking conversation amongst staff about the cause of the student body’s chronic absences.
According to Principal Mike Paredes, “At University City High School, when students aren’t here they’re missing out on those important connections. Tied to that, every student’s situation is unique and different and there’s no one reason why students are absent and so it makes it even more important for us as a staff to build solid and positive relationships with our students so we can support them in being here every single day and wanting them to be here every single day”.
For many students, the shift from in-person to remote learning during the pandemic was a major turning point. Although some students were able to adapt quickly, many others found trouble motivating themselves due to the lack of in-person interaction. Senior Nathan Thy says, “Ever since the pandemic, it has been harder to get out of the house. I was stuck in a cycle of staying home almost all the time and never going out.”
According to a website on chronic absenteeism, “Lack of transportation is among the most common reasons, but sometimes students have to look after younger siblings or go to work. In some cases, students stay home because they’re being bullied or don’t like their teachers. After COVID, some parents have become overly cautious about sending their children to school with minor ailments” (calmatters.org).
According to a site analysing data on student attendance in California, “Chronic absence rates increased from 12 percent (702,531 students) in 2018–19 to a high of 30 percent (1,799,734) in 2021–22. In 2022–23, there was a decrease of 5 percentage points to a chronic absenteeism rate of 25 percent (1,486,302 students),” (edpolicyinca.org). Although the decrease seems to be a hopeful sign, data shows the number of absences are still much higher than they were prior to the pandemic.
Some students say that taking the school bus is a problem. Senior Brenda Garcia says, “I take bus A, and there’s literally always problems. The bus is either late, or there’s an accident on our route, or something random, it’s just unreliable.”
According to a site on chronic absenteeism, “Research shows that chronic absenteeism increases a student’s risk of academic failure and is an early predictor of high school dropout rates” (schoolhealthcenters.org).
Spanish Teacher Nora Dethsy said, “When students miss school, they not only miss out on learning crucial information, but come back to class very confused. To understand assignments in class, you need to be present in class.”
According to Alyssa Broussard, a former teacher and now curriculum developer, “Educators can help identify the root cause(s) of absenteeism by observing and addressing students’ academic and social needs. If an educator notices a student is disengaged, they can implement accommodations to best suit the student’s needs in class” (thirdspacelearning.com).