Reply to 20,000 kids missing from DCPS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One out every five kids in DC has never attended school this year.

This is unconscionable. [/quote]

They are actually really clear in the article that some of those kids have attended school, and they haven't calculated how many.  Kids are counted as an incomplete enrollment if they

1) Started the paperwork, but didn't finish, even if they attended school.

2) Finished the paperwork but didn't attend school.

I teach in a DC charter, and the first couple days of school, there is always a list of kids who show up and still have outstanding paperwork.  For the younger kids, where parents are dropping off and picking up, we stop them at that point and make them go to the office.  Usually if you physically stop them in the a.m., then they bring what they need in the p.m..  For the older kids, we make them get their parents on the phone.  Lots of parents will answer their kids' cell when they won't answer a call from school.   Even with those strategies, as you can see from the article, last year there were about 10K kids who hadn't finished the process by this point.  And this year, we're making due with less effective strategies.

In addition, gathering the paperwork may be harder for families.  Maybe they didn't do their regular well check up and so they don't have the doctor's paperwork. Maybe they are having trouble figuring out how to upload documents.

And finally, there is definitely more mobility in the system now.  More families who were planning to enroll their ECE kids decided to stay with daycare or a babysitter and enroll next year.  More families have sent the kids to stay with Grandma so they have childcare, making the kids no longer eligible in DC.  More families have chosen private or homeschooling.

Yes, this is all concerning.  But it's not that 1/5 of the students didn't attend school.  It's more nuanced than that.  [/quote]

This was one of the better responses. Thank you.[/quote]

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