If you pay someone just to show up, that is what they will do. They will show up, create trouble, be bullies and assure no one gets an education. You can not buy off kids to get an education. If they wanted an education, they would show up and get it. It is obvious they think they are wasting their time. Sexual grooming in school—they can get that on the street. You do not have to go to school to learn how to be a bigot—you can get that on the street as well.
“But, like many school districts, Fresno Unified is still grappling with recovering its average daily attendance to pre-pandemic levels. As of early December, the district’s average daily attendance was 92.4%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the same time last year. “One percent is approximately ten million dollars, so the 0.4% improvement would be reflected as approximately $4 million additional revenue to the district,” said Patrick Jensen, chief financial officer, at a recent school board meeting. The district’s average daily attendance peaked at 95.1% during the first week of school. However, that figure has been trending downward since then.
Throughout the fall semester, Fresno Unified tried a variety of methods to improve attendance. Prior to the start of the school year, interim Superintendent Misty Her said she visited the homes of absent students to tell them, “We miss you and we want to see you at school.” The district also disseminated messages to educate parents about the importance of attending school. In early November, the district launched an “attendance marathon” to encourage schools to improve their student attendance. A “weekly attendance drawing” awards $1,000 to two schools that increased attendance over the previous week. Schools can spend the money on attendance-related activities or celebrations. Students and families seemed to buy into the event.
These bribes are not about education—they are about money for the failed school district. Maybe Ford should pay people to buy their cars—some theory. Stop the bribes and get back to real education.
Fresno Unified uses cash rewards to entice attendance. How much do absences cost district?
By Leqi Zhong, Fresno Bee, 12/27/24 https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article297510933.html#storylink=cpy
In California, school districts receive funding per pupil by the state based on the number of students who actually show up in the classroom, or their “average daily attendance.” In other words, districts lose money when students miss school, no matter if it’s for a sickness or a doctor’s appointment. How much money does the state’s third-largest school district lose out on per day for each absent student? For Fresno Unified School District, which has over 68,000 students enrolled, the answer is $88. Studies show that student achievement is tied to good attendance.
But, like many school districts, Fresno Unified is still grappling with recovering its average daily attendance to pre-pandemic levels. As of early December, the district’s average daily attendance was 92.4%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the same time last year. “One percent is approximately ten million dollars, so the 0.4% improvement would be reflected as approximately $4 million additional revenue to the district,” said Patrick Jensen, chief financial officer, at a recent school board meeting. The district’s average daily attendance peaked at 95.1% during the first week of school. However, that figure has been trending downward since then.
Throughout the fall semester, Fresno Unified tried a variety of methods to improve attendance. Prior to the start of the school year, interim Superintendent Misty Her said she visited the homes of absent students to tell them, “We miss you and we want to see you at school.” The district also disseminated messages to educate parents about the importance of attending school. In early November, the district launched an “attendance marathon” to encourage schools to improve their student attendance. A “weekly attendance drawing” awards $1,000 to two schools that increased attendance over the previous week. Schools can spend the money on attendance-related activities or celebrations. Students and families seemed to buy into the event.
Only 10 schools were eligible for the drawing during its first week in November. But the number of schools eligible for the drawing jumped to 77 the following week. More than 30 schools are eligible for the drawing, now, on any given week. The fall semester concluded with $12,000 rewarded to 11 schools, according to district spokesperson Diana Diaz. The marathon will continue through the end of the 2024-25 school year, Diaz said. Another issue troubling Fresno Unified is its high rate of chronic absenteeism. A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of school for any reason.
Research shows that chronically absent students have more difficulty learning by third grade and graduating from high school. Although the rate of chronic absenteeism is not directly factored into the formula the state uses to distribute funding to schools, it does impact their finances because students who are chronically absent bring down a district’s average daily attendance. Fresno Unified’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped from 35.4% in the 2022-23 school year to 31.4% in 2023-24. The statewide chronic absenteeism rate was 25% during the 2022-23 school year. As of early December, the district’s chronic absenteeism rate was 22.4%.
Almost all student groups saw a decrease in chronic absenteeism compared to December of last year, with the exception of foster youth, whose chronic absenteeism rate increased by 3%. “For the most part, they are in placements that encourage their education and do get them to school on time, but a handful of kids do struggle with their attendance,” said Angi Martinez, program supervisor at CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties. “Oftentimes there’s something else behind just, ‘I don’t want to go to school.’
Either they feel really delayed or don’t feel comfortable with their peers because of social reasons or even bullying issues.” Lorin Dias, CASA advocate coordinator, said foster youth are not guaranteed to go to the same school every time they change placement, and there’s no guarantee that the teaching schedule is consistent.
Data show that when foster youth move once, they lose six months of education, she said. “I have a particular youth who has been in foster care for three years but has had nine placements,” Dias said.“New kids, new teachers, it’s hard to adapt to. So part of absenteeism could be because they’re overwhelmed. How do you catch up with that many changes? There’s no foundation of education where they’ve had good study skills.”
No different from paying people to vote!