The Department of Health "is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance," wrote Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in subverting a public health standard that's long kept measles outbreaks under control.
Chronic absenteeism has eased some from post-pandemic highs but it remains more severe in districts that, even pre-COVID, had been struggling most to keep kids in school. School leaders will need "both carrots and sticks to address the problem," one researcher contends.
Criticisms of DEI programming as antisemitic are mounting in the months after Hamas' Oct. 7 assault on Israel. Many parents believe Jewish students aren't safe amid rising antisemitic harassment in the schools, and others claim DEI programs foster anti-Israel extremism.
Students aren't the only ones struggling. School staff face increased pressure to support the rising number of students in need of help—at a time when educators themselves are at a breaking point.
Superintendent Roger Freeman has coopted the school choice concept within his K-8 district by replacing traditional attendance zones with a series of career-focused academies.
Bridging the gap between data and decision-making empowers educators to leverage the full potential of data-informed communication for the benefit of K-12 students
During a recent conversation with Savannah Morning News, Watts said, “Had I known attendance was as dismal as it was, I would have said we have to fix attendance first…we can't teach the kids if they don't come to school.”
