Chronic absenteeism has become less of a problem in the last two years, but it is still a concern in the San Juan Unified school district. Hundreds of kids are chronically missing school and the district has made efforts to try and combat this problem.

“Chronic absenteeism has a direct correlation with graduation rates,” Director of Communications Raj Rai said. “The more students miss school, the further behind they become.”

The attendance improvement program in San Juan Unified is working tirelessly to get students to school, and their efforts seem to be working.

“We are seeing a 1.25% increase in attendance rates out of about 38,000 students which is significant compared to previous years,” Rai said.

The current chronic absenteeism rate is at around 18%, compared to two years ago when it was at 30%.

San Juan Unified has a team of school community workers trying to combat chronic absenteeism. These workers help families find the resources they need to help their students get to school.

Chronic absenteeism is when a student misses 10% or more of school days. 

“No doubt it affects grades, as students do not understand the material, miss tests and assignments, and end up failing and repeating classes,” Biology teacher Paula Gomes said. “More importantly than that is the experiences that you lose when you are not at school.”

When students miss school they are missing the information needed for their tests, assignments, and more. This leads to students failing tests, and even failing the class.

“When I say “being at school”, I mean being present at school, paying attention, asking questions, reflecting about what you understand and what you do not understand and seeking help and support to do better,” Gomes said.

Even when students show up to school, they don’t necessarily show up to learn.

San Juan Unified, although it’s not a huge problem at Rio, still wants to better the attendance rates so students can truly start understanding the material and not get lost and left behind.