{"id":9731,"date":"2025-10-17T14:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/9731\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T14:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:28:08","slug":"empty-chairs-at-empty-tables-in-orange-county-california-schools-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/9731\/","title":{"rendered":"Empty chairs at empty tables in Orange County, California schools \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s agree that, in order to learn, one must actually show up to school and put one\u2019s butt in one\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many kids in Orange County \u2014 and many more in the state at large \u2014 are struggling with this most fundamental step. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic, and while attendance is improving, absenteeism remains about twice as high as in the pre-COVID era.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeft unaddressed, chronic absence can translate into students having difficulty learning to read by grade 3, reaching grade level standards in middle school and graduating from high school,\u201d said a recent study by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)<\/a>. \u201cAlthough rates of chronic absence have continued to decrease since their peak in 2021\u201322, they remain alarmingly high. Ensuring equitable opportunities to learn will require ongoing attention and action.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Orange County, chronic absenteeism \u2014 defined as missing 10% or more school days \u2014 averaged just 7.6% back in the 2016-17 school year, according to state data<\/a>. It nearly tripled to 21.3% in 2021-22, then dropped to 15% in 2023-24.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s better than California as a whole. The Golden State\u2019s chronic absenteeism averaged 10.8% in 2016-17, nearly tripled to 30.8% in 2021-22, and dropped to 20.6% in 2023-24, data show.<\/a><\/p>\n

Missing in action<\/p>\n

Exceeding 20% is concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen at least 20 percent or more of students in a school are chronically absent, the educational experience of all students, not just chronically absent students, is affected,\u201d the PACE study said. \u201cThe constant churn of students in classrooms negatively affects both teaching and learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

That 20+% absentee rate continued in only a handful of O.C. districts in 2023-24, including those in Anaheim and the Orange County Department of Education, which runs special ed and alternative programs, among other tasks.<\/p>\n

But several districts \u2014 including Santa Ana Unified, Buena Park Elementary, Magnolia Elementary, Savanna Elementary, Orange Unified and Huntington Beach Union High \u2014 came uncomfortably close, with more than 17% of students chronically absent.<\/p>\n

The districts with the lowest chronic absenteeism in Orange County that year \u2014 below 10% \u2014 were Irvine Unified, Brea-Olinda Unified, Huntington Beach City Elementary, Fountain Valley Elementary, Los Alamitos Unified and Cypress Elementary.<\/p>\n

\"Signs<\/a>Signs wait to welcome students as third grade teacher Lindsey Farney sits in an empty classroom as she talks with her students on the second day of class at Richman Elementary School in Fullerton, CA, on Wednesday, August 12, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

Will this improvement continue? Ongoing immigration raids can spook heavily-immigrant communities, dissuading some kids from going to school. Some 12,000 school-aged children in O.C. lack legal status, according to the Migration Policy Institute<\/a>, and more than a quarter of kids under age 18 have at least one undocumented parent, according to a study from the USC Equity Research Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

School officials in Orange County report that attendance has been steady as of late.<\/a> But in districts where chronic absenteeism is already an issue, that\u2019s not necessarily comforting. How will this will play out in the longer term? How will it impact these kids?<\/p>\n

What and why?
\n\"Policy<\/a>Policy Analysis for California Education<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a shocker: Schools serving more socio-economically disadvantaged kids have greater levels of chronic absenteeism.<\/p>\n

In 2023\u201324, just 2% of the most affluent schools (those where less than one-quarter of the kids were poor) had high or extreme levels of chronic absence, the PACE study found.<\/p>\n

In schools where three-quarters or more of the kids were poor, 72% of had high or extreme levels of chronic absence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is encouraging that these numbers are decreasing for all schools \u2026 but high-poverty schools remain severely affected,\u201d the PACE report said. \u201c(C)hronic absence both reflects and exacerbates inequities.\u201d<\/p>\n

High absenteeism can be a symptom of the challenges kids and families face, such as a lack of access to health care, unreliable transportation and housing and food insecurity, it said. Bullying, an unwelcoming school climate, biased disciplinary or attendance practices and a lack of a meaningful and culturally relevant curriculum can make matters worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch difficulties can affect students\u2019 ability to learn,\u201d PACE said, \u201cas well as cause them to fall farther behind because they miss invaluable instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who?
\n\"Policy<\/a>Policy Analysis for California Education<\/p>\n

In California, Latino students are disproportionally among the chronically absent.<\/p>\n

They made up 65% of chronically absent students in 2022\u201323 and 2023\u201324, but 56% of the student population overall.<\/p>\n

White students were the next-largest group, followed by Black students.<\/p>\n

\u201c(S)chool and district actions to improve school attendance for students in this group must be multifaceted and include services that meet their basic needs, make school feel safe and welcoming, and ensure engaging and rigorous learning opportunities,\u201d the report said. \u201cEqually critical are partnerships with community organizations and public agencies for addressing barriers and challenges to school attendance that may fall beyond the capacity of educators alone to meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alarmingly high levels of chronic absence occurring nationwide require sustained attention and action, PACE said. Although California\u2019s numbers are challenging, absenteeism can be addressed when districts, with state support, help schools take a data-informed approach that\u2019s grounded in an understanding of local realities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis analysis of data through the 2023\u201324 school year offers hopeful signs that attendance levels in California are moving in the right direction, but even greater efforts are needed in the schools and communities most affected by COVID-19 and education inequities,\u201d PACE said.<\/p>\n

What to do?<\/p>\n

Up at the state level, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond made a \u201cbold commitment\u201d to reduce chronic absenteeism by 50 percent over five years<\/a> \u2014 which would return California\u2019s chronic absenteeism rate in 2030 to roughly what it was in 2016.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>He intends to do this with a three-pronged approach<\/a> stressing health, well-being and safety (\u201cStudents attend school when they are physically and emotionally healthy as well as when they feel safe and supported\u201d); family engagement (\u201cStudents attend school when they and their families are actively engaged as partners in advancing learning and overcoming barriers to getting to school\u201d); and student connectedness (\u201cStudents attend school when they are connected to a caring adult and peers, engaged in prosocial activities, and feel a sense of belonging\u201d).<\/p>\n

Schools should \u201cdrive with data;<\/a>\u201d directly engage with kids and families to identify the factors affecting attendance and engagement; \u201cmobilize everyone \u2014 families, students, school staff and external partners \u2014 to address attendance;\u201d and then examine their interventions to see if they\u2019re actually making a difference, the state\u2019s guidance says.<\/p>\n

\"Attendance<\/a>Attendance Works<\/p>\n

The Orange County Office of Education, which supports local districts, helps schools look beyond numbers and respond to the individual needs of students and families that may be keeping them from class, spokesman Ian Hanigan said. Tools include academic intervention, inclusion and positive behavioral interventions, among other things.<\/p>\n

\u201cChronic absenteeism remains one of the most important challenges we face as educators because regular attendance is directly linked to academic success, engagement and overall student well-being,\u201d said OCDE Superintendent Stefan Bean by email. \u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve seen encouraging signs that attendance is improving across Orange County but we also recognize there\u2019s more work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

OCDE\u2019s goal is to help schools identify students who are at risk early on, provide targeted resources and data analysis, and collaborate with district leaders, community organizations and families to strengthen engagement and remove barriers to attendance, he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Anaheim Elementary School District, one of O.C.\u2019s hardest hit, has taken a page straight from the U.S. Department of Education<\/a>: Helping parents navigate when kids are too sick to attend school and when it\u2019s okay for them to attend, said Yadira Moreno, assistant superintendent for educational services.<\/p>\n

Minor stomach aches, sore throats, ear aches and headaches \u2014 with no fever? Those get the green light. Fevers over 100.4 degrees, vomiting and diarrhea get the red light.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recently created a magnet through our Community Schools movement, as a request from parents for the visual,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is changing a mindset we established during COVID, when students needed to be out 10 days if they tested positive for COVID or were exposed to someone who had tested positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, Attendance Review Teams meet monthly with districtwide attendance and community engagement officials, she said. \u201cIt is a collaborative effort with site leaders working together to encourage students to attend every day!\u00a0 We are also launching our short term independent study contracts in November, to help our district recoup attendance. What we know, small district level changes, matter for our students to learn and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toward the other end of the absentee spectrum is the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which had a 13.1% absentee rate in 2023-24 \u2014 and saw that drop to 10.7% last year.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the strategic use of data, phone calls home and home visits to families, said spokeswoman Alyssa Griffiths.<\/p>\n

Schools routinely review attendance data and conduct small group check-ins to identify and address what might be contributing to student absences.<\/p>\n

The importance of attending school every day has been incorporated into districtwide newsletters and back-to-school night presentations. Professional development for teachers focuses on positive, rather than punitive, behavioral and engagement practices. And the district has used one-time funds to expand social-emotional and behavioral support staff, further strengthening relationships and student well-being on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize that when students feel connected and supported, they\u2019re more likely to attend school regularly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And when they attend school regularly, it\u2019s easier to learn. We need these kids to be educated. We\u2019re leaving them quite a tangle to unravel in coming decades. They must be up to the task.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 17, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s agree that, in order to learn, one must actually show up to school and put one\u2019s butt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,2305,1071,9397,100,1997],"class_list":["post-9731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-children","tag-local-government","tag-local-schools","tag-news","tag-schools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}