Pittsburg, Fremont and John Swett school districts won kudos from the state’s education chief for their innovative and effective practices to bring down suspensions, expulsions and chronic absenteeism, state officials announced Thursday.
They were among 27 district attendance programs statewide recognized for their efforts to increase student attendance by state Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson. They were named “Model School Attendance Review Boards,” because they will serve as mentors to other districts.
Through these efforts, a number of districts have seen marked improvement in attendance. For instance, Pittsburg Unified School District decreased its chronic absenteeism rate by 21 percent over the past three years, according to state education officials.
“Students need to be in school to learn,” Torlakson said in a statement. “The terrific work of the review boards is a testament to the collaboration between the school, parents and community so that all students have the opportunity to succeed on their way to 21st century careers and college.”
All school programs that received the honor use a three-tiered approach to keep students in school, education officials said. First, they reward improved attendance and create an engaging school climate with low suspension rates. Second, they identify attendance problems early and provide personalized outreach to students and parents. Third, they refer the most persistent attendance or behavior problems to a school attendance review board and combine resources to solve underlying attendance problems.
Such efforts are important because poor attendance increases the likelihood that students will drop out. In addition, chronic absenteeism and truancy costs California school districts millions of dollars each year.
Listed below are local districts that won the honor and contact information for attendance representatives:
• Fremont Unified School District, Dennie Marenco, Fremont Unified School District, 510-657-2350, Ext. 12367, dmarenco@fremont.k12.ca.us
• John Swett Unified School District, Ken Nelson, SARB chairperson, 925-768-3724, knelson@jsusd.k12.ca.us
• Pittsburg Unified School District, ReJois Frazier-Myers, SARB chairperson, 925-473-2346, rfraziermyers@pittsburg.k12. ca.us
