PATERSON — The chronic absenteeism rate in Paterson Public Schools was 41.6% of the total enrollment during the 2022-23 school year, far exceeding the state average of 16.6%, according to data released recently by the state Education Department.
More than 8,900 students were deemed chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days of class.
Paterson's absenteeism rate was well above the rates for Newark, which was 12.7%; Jersey City, at 25.6%; and Elizabeth, which came in at 16.9%. Only Trenton, at 42.2%, and Camden, at 40.7%, had chronic absenteeism rates comparable to Paterson’s among New Jersey’s 30 low-income, urban districts.
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Paterson school board members said the poor attendance numbers are one of the major factors contributing to the city’s low student test scores. For example, last year more than 90% of Paterson’s high school students failed the state’s standardized math test.
“If they’re not in school, they’re not learning,” said Board of Education President Manny Martinez. “It’s not rocket science.”
Lack of parental direction, COVID fallout
Education advocates offered a variety of explanations for why Paterson’s student attendance is so poor, including a lack of parental direction, immigrant families who take extended vacations back to their homelands during school sessions, the residual impact of the COVID-19 school shutdown, and the lack of enforcement within the district.
“There’s no one more responsible than the parents and families of those children,” Martinez said of the high absenteeism rates. “We share the blame, but we’re not the ones shaking the bed in the morning saying, ‘Get up and go to school.’”
Six years ago, the Paterson school district launched a campaign to increase the numbers of students attending classes with various feel-good events and banners, which were backed up by hiring 17 part-time attendance officers.
But none of those jobs remain part of the district’s payroll. In 2017-2018, about 49% of Paterson’s high school students were chronically absent, as were 18% of the children in grades kindergarten through eight, officials said at the time.
The numbers for 2022-23 offer a much grimmer picture. At the high school level, the chronic absenteeism rates ranged from 46% for ninth graders to 66% for 11th graders, the state Education Department said.
At Paterson elementary schools, 50% of the children in kindergarten and 42% in first grade were chronically absent. Every other grade had 30% or more of its students chronically absent.
Paterson school board Vice President Kenneth Simmons said the district needs to target improving attendance among its youngest students.
“If the problem isn’t resolved in elementary school, it’s just going to carry over into the high schools,” he said.
Simmons also suggested that the district’s Family and Community Engagement office needs to play a role in addressing the low attendance.
Impact of teaching vacancies
Rosie Grant, executive director of the Paterson Education Fund advocacy group, said her organization has been working with district administration officials to craft a plan for boosting attendance. She said the schools need to communicate with parents about when it’s appropriate to keep children home from school.
“When is sick really sick?” Grant asked rhetorically. “Don’t keep them home for a runny nose or a common cold.”
Grant said she thinks there’s a correlation between the poor student attendance and Paterson’s high numbers of teaching vacancies. For most of this year, the district has reported having about 140 open teaching slots, with classes handled by substitutes and virtual learning programs.
The president of Paterson’s teachers’ union, John McEntee Jr., said he thinks the attendance numbers involving those vacant classes may be higher than those for the rest of the district.
“If I had to come in and look at a screen, I might not come to school,” McEntee said. “We’re failing our students because we don’t have enough teachers.”
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