Why Are Kids Missing School in Passaic County?

In Passaic County, New Jersey, an alarming trend is unfolding in schools: students are skipping classes way too often. This problem, called chronic absenteeism, is something experts are trying to understand better. They looked at data from the New Jersey Department of Education and used a tool called the Child Opportunity Index. This index measures how well a neighborhood has resources and how safe it is from violent crimes.

After studying this data over three school years, they found something important. Schools in areas with fewer resources and more crime had more students missing school. Communities of color, which often don't have enough support, were hit the hardest by this issue. These findings show that where a kid lives can greatly affect whether they go to school or not. This should be considered when trying to stop absenteeism.

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