Chicago Public Schools officials are still working to get thousands of students into online classes two weeks into the school year, a sign that obstacles to learning still exist for some and that many families may have transferred out of the district this fall.
The school system’s chief education officer, LaTanya McDade, said at Wednesday’s monthly Board of Education meeting that about 6,900 children were still missing from virtual classes in the 300,000-student district at the end of last week.
McDade said not all 6,900 students who haven’t attended classes have been “lost” and not contacted.
“Some of those students have transferred outside of the district or transferred to charter as well,” McDade said.
McDade said the number of students who still haven’t attended classes is likely lower by now, but she didn’t have an updated figure at the meeting. A CPS spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a question about the most recent number.
McDade said CPS’ decision to back off a policy that in typical years would almost immediately drop students who didn’t show up on the first day of school likely helped get kids back into classes. Students classified as “Did Not Attend” were instead dropped from enrollment two weeks into this school year.
Had the original policy been left intact, McDade said about 49,000 students might have been dropped from CPS for not attending classes that first day. That was down to 6,900 by the end of last week.
Board President Miguel del Valle asked McDade how the district would connect with those students who still hadn’t been reached.
McDade said CPS central office employees, bus aides and other workers have been calling families every day to find out where their children are, and what resources they need to get back in school. Safe Passage Workers have handed out almost 60,000 flyers in various communities, and security guards have been trained and repurposed for home visits to check on families if they can’t be reached by phone.
Del Valle said it would be important to identify the exact reasons why students haven’t been reached.
CPS released data last week that showed about four of every five students logged on for the first week of school, a markedly higher rate than in the spring despite first-day attendance still dipping from previous years.
In all, 84.2% of registered students attended remote classes the first day of school, down from an average first-day attendance of 94.3% the previous four years. Attendance district-wide rose the second day of school and then reached 90.2% by the third day.
