NPR – DEEPA FERNANDES
“In kindergarten, kids are learning really important stuff. Basic reading skills. Numbers and math concepts. And to keep from falling behind, one of the major things they need to do is make it to school every day. In Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest school district, kindergarten absence is a big problem, with some students missing 10, 20, 30 days or more. In 2012, district officials say that almost 10,000 students were chronically absent from kindergarten. Last year that number it improved, but only slightly. It’s a problem around the country as well, and research confirms the academic peril chronic absence creates for the youngest students. A 2008 report from the National Center for Children in Poverty found that children who missed more than 10 percent of school in kindergarten were the lowest-achieving group in the first grade.”(more)