Chronic absenteeism remains a big challenge for some South Jersey school districts
The annual NJ school performance reports show that many districts continue to struggle with chronic absences, which became a widespread issue during the pandemic.
Thousands of New Jersey public school students began skipping school in record numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some have not returned, according to a new state report.
The annual New Jersey School Performance Report shows that chronic absenteeism remains a problem in some districts, despite efforts by officials to get students back in school.
Statewide, about 14.9% of New Jersey’s 1.4 million public students were chronically absent for the 2023-24 school year. That means they missed 10% or more of the school year.
Similar findings have been reported nationally, and experts say some students, especially English learners, disabled students, and homeless students, are lagging far behind since the pandemic.
Before the pandemic disrupted in-person learning during the 2019-20 school year and most schools shifted to remote learning, the chronic absenteeism rate for New Jersey schools statewide was 10.6%
The latest state report, based on attendance data from the 2023-24 school year, has good and bad news for some of the more than 100 school districts in South Jersey. While many districts saw incremental decreases, the absenteeism rate for the Camden City School District and two Renaissance schools in Camden increased when compared with 2018-19, the last full school year before the pandemic, an Inquirer analysis found.
Which South Jersey districts are struggling most with absenteeism?
KIPP Cooper Norcross, a Renaissance school in Camden, had the highest increase in chronic absenteeism among districts with at least 500 students. Its rate increased from 21.1% in 2018-19 to 45.5% in 2023-24, a difference of 24.4 percentage points.
In a statement, a spokesperson said that KIPP Cooper Norcross has shown steady improvement and that absenteeism this school year has declined at every grade level, especially for middle school students.
“We recognize that strong attendance is key to student success, and like many districts, we faced real challenges after the pandemic,” the statement said.
At Camden Prep, another city Renaissance school, 50% of students were chronically absent, compared with 32% before the pandemic, the data found. The school saw improvement in the 2022-23 school year, when the rate dropped to 32%.
Maria Alcón-Heraux, a spokesperson for Uncommon Schools, which operates Camden Prep, said the school believes the latest statistics are incorrect and has asked the state to review the data. Renaissance schools are publicly funded and privately run schools, like charters, but guarantee a seat to every student in the school’s neighborhood.
To address chronic absenteeism, Camden Prep has altered its attendance protocol and set up a support system for students who are consistently missing school, she said. Social workers and the dean of students make home visits, too, she said.
“Our school support team reaches out to families daily through texts, emails, or phone calls when a student is absent,” Alcón-Heraux said in an email.
» READ MORE: Camden schools will share $1.1 million in grants to help English learners and struggling students
The rate for the Camden City School District, the city’s traditional public school system that has been run by the state since 2013, was 46.9%, or 13 percentage points higher than before the pandemic.
School officials say they are trying different approaches to get students back in school, such as offering incentives like prizes and parties. They are also stepping up outreach to parents.
Woodbury school Superintendent Andrew Bell said the numbers don’t tell the whole story. He said his district, where more than 26% of students were chronically absent in the 2023-24 school year, tries to avoid reporting students for truancy or dropping chronically absent students from the roster.
“It’s definitely a challenge because there are so many nuances of why kids aren’t in school,” Bell said.
Which South Jersey districts made improvements?
Some districts saw improvements in their absentee rates, including Audubon, Clementon, Gateway Regional, Gloucester City, Lawnside, and Woodlynne.
At Benjamin Banneker Preparatory Charter School in Willingboro, absenteeism dropped to 2.6%, the lowest in seven years. It was 5.6% in 2018-19.
Founder Richard Wilson Jr. credits an incentive system that rewards students for good attendance and enforcement of the state truancy policy that requires parents to go to court if a student has 10 unexcused absences.
“If a child is not in school, that’s an issue for us,” Wilson said.
Wilson said a “battle of the homerooms” has become a popular tactic. The class with the best attendance is allowed to dress down on Fridays instead of wearing uniforms.
» READ MORE: Here are four takeaways from last year's N.J. School Performance Reports
“They love to wear what they want to wear,” Wilson said. “We try a lot of incentives to get them to come to school. They need to be in school.”
New Jersey leaves it to individual districts to come up with attendance policies, but schools are required to open for 180 days. Districts with a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or higher must submit a corrective action plan to the state.