Can Fresno Unified schools reduce chronic absenteeism? Why the superintendent says ‘yes’

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson plans to reduce chronic absenteeism in California’s third-largest school district.

Speaking online Monday night during the district’s annual State of the District, Nelson said the district plans to increase attendance rates to more than 90%, which would be a major step forward for a district that has struggled with higher rates of chronic absenteeism.

According to California education data, about 17.1% of FUSD’s roughly 74,000 students were chronically absent during the 2018-19 school year. California hasn’t published last year’s attendance data.

However, distance learning in fall 2020 got off to a rough start for schools around the world, and Fresno Unified was no different.

During the first weeks of the 2020/21 school year, when nearly all students were learning online exclusively, chronic absenteeism jumped to nearly 23% at Fresno Unified schools. Much of the problem was tied to technology and access issues, particularly in lower-income homes.

Many of those technology barriers persist, but Nelson on Monday said all Fresno Unified schools have now provided a tablet or other device to help with schoolwork at home. Nelson said that would continue even after the pandemic.

“It’s one of the basic necessities of education,” Nelson said.

During his speech, which was held online exclusively this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nelson said he wanted to focus on positive outcomes and other “wins.”

He noted the district raised more than $51,000 for scholarship funds for the Class of 2022. He noted that while many districts around California have reported significant teacher retirements or staffing turnover, Nelson said that hasn’t happened at FUSD.

“People who are like, ‘oh, they’re fleeing education,’ that’s not true 95% of our staff is still here.”

Nelson’s remarks came just hours after a statewide protest over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s student COVID-19 vaccination mandate that included thousands of parents keeping their children home from school for the day.

Nelson didn’t mention the protest, which drew more than 200 people in Fresno on Monday. Nor did he discuss the recent coronavirus vaccination mandate for teachers, which went into effect on Friday.

District spokesperson Nikki Henry said that, as of Monday, about 74% of the district’s teachers had been vaccinated and about 53% of FUSD staff overall.

While several California school districts have reported concerns over teachers and staff quitting in protest over COVID mandates, that hasn’t happened at Fresno’s three largest districts — FUSD, Clovis Unified, and Central Unified.

Many Fresno Unified teachers have expressed frustration over the district’s COVID plans, saying quarantining procedures keep many students rotating in and out of class, making learning more difficult. The Fresno Teachers Association has said teacher morale is low. Teachers raised the issues with the school board in September and again last week.

This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.