This sentence in the article says it all, “”COVID didn’t help because kids stopped coming to school,” she said.”
COVID did not stop the kids from coming to school. Fascist Fauci, the unions and haters of children stopped the kids from getting an education. ALL the studies showed that kids would be safe in school—but the unions, not the parents or science, closed them.
Now, parents no longer have trust in schools. Especially, when they know that teachers are telling the students NOT to tell their parents about what is happening in school, the sexual abuse of the students by teachers (trying to get a child to question or change their gender IS sexual abuse), the racism that is taught and the dumbing down of education.
Now this school has a 40% absentee rate. Maybe if they were honest, transparent, teaching instead of indoctrinating, parents would see a reason to spend the effort to get their child to school. In many cases the child is SAFER staying at home rather than going to a government school.
McKinley Elementary finds community support to reduce chronic absenteeism
BY STEVEN MAYER, Bakersfield California, 9/1/23 https://www.bakersfield.com/news/mckinley-elementary-finds-community-support-to-reduce-chronic-absenteeism/article_a998bd9a-4918-11ee-97b1-1f45f6bd183f.html
David Hernandez and his 9-year-old son, Max, get ready to walk to nearby McKinley Elementary School during Walking School Bus, held Friday to combat chronic absenteeism at McKinley. Hernandez said he won’t let his son walk to school alone.
The mood was joyful, yet determined Friday morning as close to 50 community volunteers crowded into the library at McKinley Elementary School in central Bakersfield.
It was 6:55 a.m. when school Vice Principal Whitney Dirkse stood up on a chair and began to speak.
“I cannot tell you how thankful we are that you are all here today,” Dirkse told the diverse group. “McKinley is so very blessed to have all of you supporting us.”
The volunteers were there to fan out on foot into the early morning neighborhood, meet McKinley students at various locations, and walk with them to school.
In a way, it was fun, but it was no game.
McKinley and some other schools in the Bakersfield City School District have been experiencing a higher incidence of chronic absenteeism, and school Principal Kelli Michaud and her team have been searching for a solution.
“Chronic absenteeism is defined as kids who have been absent more than 10 times in the school year,” Michaud said. The school year is 180 days.
“Since the pandemic, it’s been a real uphill battle.”
Before the pandemic, chronic absenteeism was at 18%, the principal said. After the pandemic, it more than doubled to 42%.
Odessa Perkins, founder of the nonprofit Empowerment Dess Perkins, came to McKinley early Friday morning to volunteer her time for Walking School Bus.
“I grew up here,” she said. “I went to McKinley, Emerson and Bakersfield High.”
Perkins said she believes part of the problem causing McKinley’s absenteeism stems from the poverty and crime in the neighborhood.
Simply put, getting to school is not as simple as it is in many other neighborhoods.imple Energy-Saving Strategies to Lower Your Electric Bill
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“COVID didn’t help because kids stopped coming to school,” she said.
“We have to come together as a community,” Perkins said. “We have to do what we have to do for all these kids.”
Regina Shelton, another one of Friday’s volunteers, is associated with a fitness group called 2 Queens Fitness.
“I’m from the neighborhood, I attended McKinley,” Shelton said, “and I wanted to come out and support the community.
“We want the kids to be safe,” she said, “and any way I can help the kids be safe, I’ll be here.”
The 50 or so volunteers broke into several groups, each with an assigned leader, and spread out into the neighborhood.
As she walked several blocks through the neighborhood with her group, Roxanne Lee, 49, said she wants the children who attend McKinley and nearby Emerson Middle School to be embraced by love from the community.
She’s lived in the neighborhood for 24 years, and she said she watches out for the children who walk by her house headed to school.
“When I heard about it, I was, like, how awesome is this,” she said of Friday’s effort.
After collecting about five students, the group returned to the campus, where they were met with cheers from the BHS cheer squad.
McKinley students meet in the school’s quad each Friday morning, and on Friday, Jovon Dangerfield, a local community activist and radio personality, was providing a pep talk to the crowd of kids.
“Come to school every day,” Dangerfield said over a microphone. “Come to school on time.”
It was the kind of advice Principal Michaud hopes will stick.
With a 42% absentee rate the ADA payment to the schools should be 42% less. Cut the school budget by 42% and save a lot of taxpayer dollars.
ADA based on daily attendance doesn’t work. 24 students need a clean classroom just as much as 33.
Robert:
Per capita spending in Stupidfornia schools is $18,000 If we multiply that by the 24 students you mentioned, that is $432,000 for one classroom. Do you think the school could hire a janitor out of that $432,000 to clean just one classroom? Tax payers do not have a clue about the massive amount of money going into education. Much of it must be going down a toilet somewhere.
The real cost of education is $23,000 per student. Average class size is 30 which means revenue for each classroom is $690,000 annually. Paying the teacher on average $86,000 annually leaves $604,000 to go elsewhere. Not going to the classroom teaching resources, tutors, teaching aides, etc.
There is plenty of revenue. It is spending problem. Too many high paid administrators hiding behind desks to justify their existence as being too valuable to lay off.
When 42% of the students are not in school, the district does not need as many school buildings, administrators, teachers, maintenance workers, busses, bus drivers, lunches, breakfasts, dinners and all the other crap taxpayers fund the schools for.
It seems that a lot of students and parents realize that the education the students are getting is NOT preparing them for work opportunity in the future. This result is the families are revolting. That, combined with government payouts, has created a government crisis that they DO NOT know how to handle. Our liberal/woke philosophy of operation does not work. We need a government that can return us to reality, if that is even possible at this late point. Good Luck AMERICA!!!!
We do not need a government to return us to reality. We need to return to reality.!
Truly so. Regan was right. Government is the problem. Not the solution. ADA funding for 30 kids in a classroom is $540,000. Wake up tax payers. That is a massive amount of money. Parents – GET DEMANDING. CONFRONT. Look at the financial records books. Why are teachers, at least in some areas, being paid poorly, when each of their classrooms is making between $350,000 and $500,000 per year?
Reward good teachers and fire bad ones.
Children’s Educational Opportunity Act (CEO Act) is the answer. It places voter approved Proposition 98 funds of $17,000 into a TK to 12th grade student’s Education Savings Account that allows the parents to decide the best educational fit for the child not a government bureaucrat or central planner. If you are happy with your government run public school stay there. If not, the parent has the options of public school, charter school, private school, parochial school and homeschool. Any money left over in the ESA earns interest and can be used for future educational expenses. After 12th graded, unused ESA funds can be applied to Trade Technical School, Community College, University for the remainder of the child’s life. After 18 years of age, the student can transfer some or all the ESA funds to a family member or school. It’s that simple.
EducationOpportunity.org
323-417-4644