We aren’t skipping, We are struggling
By: Haley Rocha, EC Oakland Fellow-Cohort 6
Let’s get one thing straight: most of us students don’t want to miss school. But in Oakland, chronic absenteeism is a growing issue — and it’s not because we’re lazy or don’t care. It’s because we’re dealing with real-life obstacles: unstable housing, having to work jobs to support our families, taking care of siblings, or simply not having money for transportation or lunch.
According to our EC survey, 41.1% of students listed mental health being a reason that students are chronically absent, as well as 26.1% having issues with transportation (i.e. no gas money, far distances, lack of money on Clipper card).
In our district, chronic absenteeism is a real issue. According to OUSD data, chronic absenteeism rates reached a whopping 61.4% in the 2022–2023 school year.
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When students miss school, it’s not just grades that suffer — it’s OUSD’s budget, too. School districts receive funding based on ADA (Average Daily Attendance), and when attendance rates are low, the money goes away. Hundreds of jobs are proposed to be eliminated, schools are being threatened with harmful mergers that disrupt student life, and even a massive $90 million dollar budget cut, according to the Oaklandside.
But I believe we can change that.
Agentic Solution
We want student-led attendance accountability teams. Let us lead. We demand the power to organize peer support groups, create outreach campaigns, and build a reward system that actually makes sense to us. We know why our friends are missing school, and we’re ready to hold each other accountable — with real talk and real solutions. Give us the space, the mic, and a seat at the table.
Policy Solution
OUSD could create a pilot program that directs state or grant funding toward chronic absentee interventions, specifically tying funds to improvement in attendance — not just penalizing schools for poor attendance. This could include providing families with monthly stipends when their student hits attendance milestones.
According to our EC survey, 23.3% of Oakland public school students stated that financial incentives would motivate them to come to school. Imagine what a 23.3% decrease in chronic absenteeism would do to thwart major budget and job cuts in OUSD!
At the end of the day, we don’t want to miss school — we want support to make it easier to show up. With the right mix of personal motivation and real investment, we can break the cycle of chronic absenteeism in Oakland students and avert any potential job losses or budget cuts.
