Deep racial divide in Oakland schools’ attendance rates

A student walks down a hall at Garfield Elementary School in Oakland. A student walks down a hall at Garfield Elementary School in Oakland. Photo: Jessica Christian, Staff Photographer / The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian, Staff Photographer / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Deep racial divide in Oakland schools’ attendance rates 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

The first detailed look at attendance in Oakland schools shows a deep racial divide between students in class and habitual no-shows, a pattern reflected in grades, test scores and graduation rates.

That big difference between who’s in class and who isn’t helps explain much of the achievement gap between white and Asian students and their African American peers.

Nearly 1 of 5 African American students in Oakland is chronically absent from school, missing at least 10 percent of the 180-day school year. Just 1 in 20 white and Asian students miss that much school.

“It’s a critical issue that seriously affects academic and life outcomes for children across our city,” said Jonathan Klein, executive director of Great Oakland Public Schools, a public education nonprofit that was among the sponsors of the report released Friday.

The report paints a rare picture of attendance patterns in schools, something few districts can offer given the lack of data to track individual students other than overall daily attendance at schools.

Oakland, however, has such information going back a decade, allowing researchers to offer an analysis of attendance data, breaking it down by grade and race and comparing it to test scores, dropouts and the ability to read by third grade.

“It’s important in the way that it breaks down into groups that allows us to target strategies,” said Rebecca Brown, research coordinator for the Urban Strategies Council, which works to reduce poverty, and the primary author of the study. “I was surprised by the extremity of the results.”

The study, prompted by community efforts to bolster Oakland schools, found that kindergartners, as well as sophomores and juniors in high school, were the most likely to be chronically absent, with about 1 in 6 in each of those grades missing more than 18 days.

Sixth-graders were tops

Sixth-graders had the best attendance, with just 7 percent chronically absent.

White and Asian students had the best attendance while Latino, African American and disabled students, as well as foster children, were far more likely to be absent.

“There are some pretty significant disparities … starting in kindergarten for African American kids,” said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works. “If kids aren’t in school starting in kindergarten, it’s an uphill battle, because you have to make up for the time they’ve lost in the classroom.”

Across the district, 11 percent of students were chronically absent last year, down from 16 percent in 2006. The district’s goal is 5 percent.

The repercussions of missing school are clear, according to the report.

Attendance important

Students with good attendance, for example, were two to three times more likely to be proficient in math and English than those chronically absent.

While many of the statistics were bleak, the biggest takeaway from the report is that there are cures for chronic absenteeism, Brown said.

“There are so many intractable problems in society, but this is an issue where there are things that we can do,” Brown said. “We try in the report to emphasize that this is an issue that can be impacted and that good work is already going on.”

The first step is to stop pointing fingers, she said.

“I think it’s important to get past the blame of parents and start looking at the challenges that the parents are facing,” Brown said.

Health problems, transportation issues, community violence and other family struggles related to poverty are often at the root of absenteeism, she said.

The report, published by the Oakland Achieves Partnership, a coalition of education-focused nonprofits and public agencies, offers recommendations and examples of successful efforts to get children to school.

Having up-to-date and accurate attendance data for each child is critical, and heading off chronic absenteeism has to be a big priority, principals said.

“It’s something you need to be intentional about at a school level,” said Nima Tahai, principal of Garfield Elementary, where attendance rates have significantly improved in the past five years. “You’ve got to have the numbers in front of you. You’ve got to know their names, and you’ve got to learn their stories.”

At Prescott Elementary, for example, chronic absenteeism has significantly dropped since the school staff started home visits and other efforts to get frequently absent students to school. The school also helps students access health services, including monthly asthma assessments on-site.

And they’ve been known to buy an alarm clock for a student or caretaker to make sure a student not only gets there, but arrives on time. But more than anything, it’s figuring out a particular family’s struggles and offering help.

“We have these conversations on the porch, or through the car window at the curbside if a child’s dropped off late to school,” Prescott’s principal, Enomwoyi Booker, said in the report. “We break it down, figure out how we can help, then do whatever it takes.”

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker

Definitions

Chronic absence: Missing 10 percent or more of school days, 18 days out of the entire school year. Includes any absence excused or unexcused.

Satisfactory attendance: Missing less than 5 percent of school days, nine days in the full school year.