California school district targets underlying issues to combat chronic absenteeism [edsource.org]
On an early fall evening, hundreds of students, ranging from 1st-graders to high school seniors, filed onto the stage of a cavernous auditorium at a San Francisco Bay Area high school. One by one, they marched to the microphone to state their name and their milestone in achieving perfect attendance for at least a year: Some had made the goal for four years, some for seven years. One girl, a recent graduate, received a trophy in absentia, for 12. Twelve years without a single tardy, let alone...