Student absence for ‘20-‘21 increased by 1,305% from previous year

ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County Schools teachers and counselors are hard at work getting students enrolled for the summer school courses, which more than ever will be needed to help correct student attendance rates which have gotten disastrously worse over the course of the pandemic-affected school year.

For the final nine weeks, elementary schools have about 70% of their students physically present in the classroom. Middle schools are hovering around 50% and high schools are around 30%, except for Richmond Early College, which has 73% of their students physically in the building.

Unfortunately, many students are not diligently doing their work at home. Many of them are neglecting their school responsibilities entirely.

From August of 2020 to March of 2021, there have been 10,439 letters mailed out to families of K-12 students alerting them that their student had reached 3, 5 and 10 unexcused absences. For comparison, there were just 800 of these letters mailed out from August of 2019 to March of 2020. This is an increase of 1,305% over the same time periods in ‘19-‘20 and ‘20-‘21 school years.

Elementary schools were responsible for about 3,900 of the letters over the last school year. Middle school had slightly over 2,500 letters, and high schools sent nearly 3,800 letters.

“That speaks to the volume of students who are just not in regular attendance,” said Dr. Wendy Jordan, director of student services. “That’s a whole lot of children who are tuned out.”

At Richmond Senior High School, 315 students have missed over 50 days of school.

“When these children come back, basically some of them have been operating really without parameters or expectation, kind of just doing their own thing,” Jordan said. “Adjusting back to the routine of school — the interaction with adults, the appropriate interaction with your peers, personal responsibility — is really going to be a struggle.

Evonne Moore, one of eight full time social workers in the district, said compulsory attendance law violations are in place after a student misses 10 days. Families receive a letter from the state alerting them that the student must attend school, or the issue will be addressed by the Department of Social Services and their name will be submitted to the court system.

These systems have always been in place, but the need has skyrocketed. Moore, who has worked as a social worker for 32 years and was the North Carolina State School Social Worker of the Year in 2004, has been knocking on doors throughout the pandemic trying to reach families whose students aren’t in school, encouraging them to return in-person or virtually.

Jordan said that, as a district, the letters sent home this year were “oozing with grace and mercy.” Threats of going court were absent. Instead, the letter encouraged individuals to reach out to the school system, counselors, social workers for assistance.

“Families have had a one-year respite of court action, but we still have the same stacks of documentation,” Jordan said. “Chronically absent students — if that remains an issue for the 2021-22 school year, we’re going to court and we’re going to have the documentation from this year to take with us.”

For the students who have missed more than 50 days, their absenteeism can’t be solely attributed to the pandemic. Rather, it’s a “historical problem,” according to Jordan. Many of these students have files dating back to Kindergarten detailing their lack of attendance.

At 16, the courts can no longer compel students to attend school. That student then becomes a dropout, said RSHS Principal Jim Butler. The student dropout rate for RSHS is around 13%.

“There are always at-risk kids,” said Dr. Kate Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction. “The biggest difference is that teachers can pull them over the finish line [during normal school instruction]. Whenever they’re out in the virtual world or getting jobs, you can’t reach them.”

At the seniors’ Victory Lap at the Rock Speedway & Entertainment Complex last week, Butler lamented that it was the first time that they’ve seen a lot of those students all year

“I think our teachers have done a wonderful job connecting with students online,” Butler said. “It just doesn’t match face to face. I’m tired of walking through these hallways and hearing my footsteps.”

Why students aren’t in school

The reasons why students miss school range from the tragic to the apathetic, or to simply getting a job and meeting other responsibilities.

“If you have students in a single parent household,” Jordan said, “You got a high school kid trying to do their work, making sure their middle school brother is logging on, making sure their elementary sister is logging on, helping them with their homework. They’re facilitating instruction for their siblings, in addition to cooking or cleaning — there’s a lot of that.”

Many older kids are able to work. That extra money can mean a lot for a family who is struggling.

“I have kids who are managers … instead of coming to school and getting their diploma,” said counselor Nikki Wells-Smith.

Babysitting is a common response as to why students aren’t in school. Family responsibilities, including taking parents to doctor’s appointment, are increasingly common. Sickness due to COVID was another legitimate excuse.

One of the most concerning responses from students is that they fear of already being too far behind in their learning and essentially giving up.

Moore stated that while fears about contracting COVID are legitimate and many individuals have lost loved ones, many parents that she’s talked to are “uninformed.” Dr. Jordan has outlined at multiple school board meetings that students are more likely to contract COVID-19 as a virtual student than in the RCS system.

“In the end, what [the pandemic] created is a larger number of at-risk students, larger number of students that are absent,” Butler said. “That clock is going and we don’t want them to get behind and find themselves [saying] ‘oh, I’m too far behind and now I’m going to give up.’ It’s not going to be that we’re just going to invent a program and everyone’s going to forget a year-and-a-half of the pandemic.”

Smith explained that last year, students who were passing certain classes at the end of the year could receive a passing grade or withdraw from the class to avoid failing it. That relief is not happening this year.

“There’s not a magic bullet that’s going to say we’re going to catch everything up,” Butler said. “I think the first step is summer school.”

Getting students back into the classroom

“One thing that we do really well in this district is foster and nurture relationships,” Jordan stated. “There are a lot of children that come to see [RCS counselors and administrators]. They come because they know these folks genuinely care about them and there may not be anybody else. They might be the only reason they come.”

Relationships are key at all levels, she clarified.

All the administrators agreed that events that exist outside the classroom, such as the Raider Victory Lap or Movie Night, are critical to student’s success.

“I want them to remember what they’re missing,” Butler said. “To know those positive experiences and not get used to not having them.”

Part of Moore’s role in interacting with students in their environment is reminding students that school staff wants them attending classes and is legitimately interested in their well-being.

The summer school is designed as a “reset,” where not only seniors can work towards earning their diploma, underclassmen can renew the feeling of being and school and staying on track to graduate with their class.

“We’re just making sure that everybody’s aware that they have this opportunity,” Wells-Smith said. “If they don’t take us up on this, they’re just going to put themselves behind. Many of them have taken the whole year off.”

Counselors will be available at the summer classes for students who want to discuss their needs that extend outside the classroom.

Moore, a member of Roy Cooper’s Task Force for Safer Schools, referenced a survey from the National Association of School Social Workers that showed that 80% of school social workers want students in schools. This is largely due to the number of reported cases of abuse and neglect, which declined during the pandemic not because it’s happening less, but because it wasn’t reported. Typically, school personnel are the first one to see the signs of abuse.

A certified teacher will be present at each summer class. Before, it would just be a lab assistant who could help if needed. A 12:1 student to teacher ratio is expected for the program.

“There’s a danger that before too long some students are going to be dropped from the rolls due to lack of attendance,” Butler said. “There’s been a lot of grace and a lot of empathy for what they’ve all been going through, but there’s a limit too.”

‘Reach out to us’

School staff is encouraging individuals to reach out to the schools for any support or information.

“Check on your kids,” Wells-Smith said. “If you don’t know what’s going on with your child or you don’t know their grades, contact the school.”

K-8 students will be offered 150 hours of in-person instruction from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday in two separate sessions from June 14 through July 1 and July 12 to July 29. It will be hosted at the student’s school.

The Ninth Grade Academy and RSHS summer session dates will be June 8 through July 1 for the first session and July 12 through Aug 4 for the second. Ashley Chapel Education Center and Richmond Early College High School have not announced their schedules yet.

The Class of 2022 will be the 50th graduating class at RSHS, which Butler said can be chance to chart a new path forward. Butler said he’s excited to kickstart next year with campaigns to reinvigorate the student body. In April, RSHS announced that high-interest classes, such as African-American Studies, American Sign Language (ASL), Drama and Theater Arts, Psychology and Dance and Sports classes will be added to the curriculum.

“What better time to recreate ourselves, come out of the pandemic, open the doors back up for our students and make it a special year,” he said.