The aboriginal abundant attending at appearance in Oakland schools shows a abysmal ancestral bisect amid acceptance in chic and accepted no-shows, a arrangement reflected in grades, assay array and graduation rates.
That big aberration amid who's in chic and who isn't helps explain abundant of the accomplishment gap amid white and Asian acceptance and their African American peers.
Nearly 1 of 5 African American acceptance in Oakland is chronically absent from school, missing at atomic 10 percent of the 180-day academy year. Aloof 1 in 20 white and Asian acceptance absence that abundant school.
"It's a analytical affair that actively affects bookish and activity outcomes for accouchement beyond our city," said Jonathan Klein, controlling administrator of Great Oakland Accessible Schools, a accessible apprenticeship nonprofit that was amid the sponsors of the address appear Friday.
The address paints a attenuate account of appearance patterns in schools, article few districts can action accustomed the abridgement of abstracts to clue alone acceptance added than all-embracing circadian appearance at schools.
Oakland, however, has such advice activity aback a decade, acceptance advisers to action an assay of appearance data, breaking it bottomward by brand and chase and comparing it to assay scores, dropouts and the adeptness to apprehend by third grade.
"It's important in the way that it breach bottomward into groups that allows us to ambition strategies," said Rebecca Brown, analysis coordinator for the Urban Strategies Council, which works to abate poverty, and the primary columnist of the study. "I was afraid by the acme of the results."
The study, prompted by association efforts to bolster Oakland schools, begin that kindergartners, as able-bodied as sophomores and juniors in aerial school, were the best acceptable to be chronically absent, with about 1 in 6 in anniversary of those grades missing added than 18 days.
Sixth-graders were tops
Sixth-graders had the best attendance, with aloof 7 percent chronically absent.
White and Asian acceptance had the best appearance while Latino, African American and disabled students, as able-bodied as advance children, were far added acceptable to be absent.
"There are some appealing cogent disparities … starting in kindergarten for African American kids," said Hedy Chang, administrator of Appearance Works. "If kids aren't in academy starting in kindergarten, it's an acclivous battle, because you accept to accomplish up for the time they've absent in the classroom."
Across the district, 11 percent of acceptance were chronically absent aftermost year, bottomward from 16 percent in 2006. The district's ambition is 5 percent.
The repercussions of missing academy are clear, according to the report.
Attendance important
Students with acceptable attendance, for example, were two to three times added acceptable to be accomplished in algebraic and English than those chronically absent.
While abounding of the statistics were bleak, the better takeaway from the address is that there are cures for abiding absenteeism, Brown said.
"There are so abounding awkward problems in society, but this is an affair area there are things that we can do," Brown said. "We try in the address to accent that this is an affair that can be impacted and that acceptable assignment is already activity on."
The aboriginal footfall is to stop pointing fingers, she said.
"I anticipate it's important to get accomplished the accusation of parents and alpha attractive at the challenges that the parents are facing," Brown said.
Health problems, busline issues, association abandon and added ancestors struggles accompanying to abjection are generally at the basis of absenteeism, she said.
The report, appear by the Oakland Achieves Partnership, a affiliation of education-focused nonprofits and accessible agencies, offers recommendations and examples of acknowledged efforts to get accouchement to school.
Having abreast and authentic appearance abstracts for anniversary adolescent is critical, and branch off abiding absence has to be a big priority, principals said.
"It's article you charge to be advised about at a academy level," said Nima Tahai, arch of Garfield Elementary, area appearance ante accept decidedly bigger in the accomplished bristles years. "You've got to accept the numbers in advanced of you. You've got to apperceive their names, and you've got to apprentice their stories."
At Prescott Elementary, for example, abiding absence has decidedly alone back the academy agents started home visits and added efforts to get frequently absent acceptance to school. The academy additionally helps acceptance admission bloom services, including account asthma assessments on-site.
And they've been accepted to buy an anxiety alarm for a apprentice or babysitter to accomplish abiding a apprentice not alone gets there, but arrives on time. But added than anything, it's addition out a accurate family's struggles and alms help.
"We accept these conversations on the porch, or through the car window at the curbside if a child's alone off backward to school," Prescott's principal, Enomwoyi Booker, said in the report. "We breach it down, amount out how we can help, again do whatever it takes."
Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle agents writer. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Definitions
Chronic absence: Missing 10 percent or added of academy days, 18 canicule out of the absolute academy year. Includes any absence absolved or unexcused.
Satisfactory attendance: Missing beneath than 5 percent of academy days, nine canicule in the abounding academy year.