VOA教育报道2024--US Schools Use Money, Fun, Support to Get Students to Class

Flerentin Jean-Baptiste missed school so often that he had to repeat his first year at Medford High School near Boston.

Jean-Baptiste said, at school, "You do the same thing every day." He was absent 30 days in his first year.

Then the principal of the school did something different: She let students play organized sports during lunch - if they attended all their classes. In other words, she offered high school students a play period that is usually part of the school day for young children.

"It gave me something to look forward to," said 16-year-old Jean-Baptiste. The following year, he cut his absences in half. Schoolwide, the share of regularly absent students dropped from 35 percent in March 2023 to 23 percent in March 2024. That was one of the biggest reductions among Massachusetts high schools.

The Associated Press and Stanford University economist¹ Thomas Dee have studied attendance² numbers from 42 states and Washington, D.C. They found that years after the school closings from the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in nearly every state are still struggling with attendance.

About one in four students in the 2022-23 school year were chronically⁴ absent. That means they missed at least 10 percent of the school year. That number represents about 12 million children in states reporting numbers of absent students.

Before the pandemic, only 15 percent of students missed school that often.

After spending as much as a year at home during the pandemic, many children see school as more than they can handle, uninteresting or socially stressful. Some children and parents are deciding it is no problem to stay home. That makes completing class work even harder.

In all but one state, Arkansas, absence rates remain higher than they were before the pandemic. Still, the problem appears to have passed its highest point; almost every state saw absenteeism go down at least a little during the two full school years ending in 2023.

Schools are trying to identify students with attendance problems so they can help. They are also trying to communicate better with parents. Some parents might not know their child is missing a lot of school or its effects on their performance.

Experts say schools must get creative to meet their students' needs.

Pay money or care about students

In Oakland, California, chronic³ absenteeism in public schools sharply⁵ rose from 29 percent before the pandemic to 53 percent during the 2022-23 school year. Officials asked students what would make them want to come to class. They answered, money and a mentor⁶.

In spring 2023, the Oakland school district received a grant to pay 45 students $50 weekly to attend school every day. Sixty percent of those in the program improved their attendance. Zaia Vera is the district's head of social-emotional learning. Vera said paying students cannot continue for a long time, but many absent students lacked dependable housing or were helping⁷ to support their families. "The money is the hook⁸ that got them in the door."

A caring teacher made a difference for 18-year-old Golden Tachiquin. She completed her studies at Oakland's Skyline High School this spring. Coming back to school after the pandemic, she felt lost and anxious. She later realized these feelings made her feel physically⁹ sick. She was absent at least 25 days that year.

One Afro-Latina teacher seemed to understand her culturally and made Tachiquin feel she belonged in class. Tachiquin already received good grades.

In Massachusetts, Medford High School requires administrators¹⁰ to welcome and talk with students each morning, especially those who miss a lot of class.

But playtime at lunch has had the greatest effect on improved attendance, Principal Marta Cabral said. High school students need freedom and a chance to move their bodies, she said. "They're here for seven hours a day. They should have a little fun."

Long-term problems

Many of the reasons given for students missing school early in the pandemic are still in place. They include financial difficulty, transportation problems, mild illness and mental health struggles.

For example, a study from the University of Southern California said parents reported that almost one fourth of chronically absent students had emotional or behavioral problems, compared with just seven percent of those with good attendance.

At Fresno's Fort¹¹ Miller¹² Middle School, half of the students were chronically absent. Two reasons kept coming up: dirty clothing and no transportation. The school bought a washer and dryer¹³ for families to use. It also provided a vehicle to pick up students who missed the bus. Fresno's chronic absenteeism improved to 35 percent during the school year ending in 2023.

Fourteen-year-old Melinda Gonzalez missed the school bus about once a week. So, she called for rides from the school vehicle.

"I don't have a car; my parents couldn't drive me to school," Gonzalez said. "Getting that ride made a big difference."

Words in This Story

absent - adj. not present at a usual or expected place

chronically - adv. in a way that is continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

stressful - adj. making you feel worried or anxious

mentor - n. someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person

grant -n. an amount of money from a government or organization meant for a specific purpose and which does not have to be repaid¹⁴

hook - n. something (such as part of a song) that attracts people's attention

anxious - adj. afraid or nervous especially about what may happen

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

3 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

4 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

5 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

6 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

11 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

14 repaid   

v. 偿还, 报答 vbl. 偿还, 报答

参考例句：

• The business quickly repaid the initial outlay on advertising. 这家公司很快偿付了初期的广告费。
• She doesn't intend to be repaid to her kindness. 她不图回报她的好心。