Strengthening Schools by Strengthening Families

12
ONE ZIP CODE WITH VERY DIFFERENT NUMBERS
Even in the same neighborhood, the rate of chronic absenteeism varies tremendously from school to school. This chart
shows chronic absentee rates of 13 elementary schools and 18 middle schools in one zip code in the Bronx, 10456. It
also shows how many times each school called the State Central Register to report a case of possible “educational
neglect.” Staff at P.S. 2, for example, made 49 reports of educational neglect in 2007–08, while eight other schools in
the same zip code made none. Although poor neighborhoods tend to have higher rates of chronic absenteeism and more
suspected cases of abuse and neglect than middle class neighborhoods, this chart suggests that each school chooses its
own way to deal with the issues.
ATTENDANCE AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN A SINGLE ZIP CODE: 10456
NUMBER OF
PERCENT OF
STUDENTS
STUDENTS
ELEMENTARY AND ELEMENTARY-MIDDLE SCHOOLS
CHRONICALLY
CHRONICALLY
District School Name GRADES
1 2 ABSENT 1 2 ABSENT
09 P.S. 002 MORRISANIA K–5 133 41.7
09 P.S. 132 GARRET A. MORGAN PK–5 210 36.0
09 P.S. 053 BASHEER QUISIM PK–5 475 35.9
08 P.S. 146 EDWARD COLLINS PK–5 163 35.7
07 P.S. 157 GROVE HILL PK–5 189 33.5
12 P.S. 212 PK–8 161 32.3
08 P.S. 140 EAGLE PK–5 162 32.2
12 P.S. 198 PK–5 130 31.7
09 P.S. 063 AUTHOR’S ACADEMY PK–5 151 30.0
09 P.S. 110 THEODORE SCHOENFELD PK–5 112 26.9
09 P.S. 090 GEORGE MEANY K–4 278 22.6
09 P.S. 055 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PK–5 134 19.6
09 P.S. X088 S. SILVERSTEIN LITTLE SCHOOL K–3 58 18.8
MIDDLE AND MIDDLE-HIGH SCHOOLS
08 M.S. 301 PAUL L. DUNBAR 6–8 181 48.1
12 NEW DAY ACADEMY 6–10 196 45.9
09 BRONX WRITING ACADEMY 6–8 231 42.6
07 SOUTH BRONX ACADEMY FOR APPLIED MEDIA 6–8 120 42.6
09 J.H.S. 166 ROBERTO CLEMENTE 5–8 390 40.4
09 I.S. 219 NEW VENTURE SCHOOL 6–8 172 36.4
09 FREDERICK DOUGLASS ACADEMY III SECONDARY SCHOOL 6–12 178 34.5
07 ACADEMY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 6–8 103 34.1
12 BRONX STUDIO SCHOOL FOR WRITERS AND ARTISTS 6–8 71 33.6
12 BRONX LATIN 6–9 84 31.2
09 NEW MILLENNIUM BUSINESS ACADEMY MIDDLE SCHOOL 6–8 83 29.7
09 J.H.S. 145 ARTURO TOSCANINNI 5–8 128 26.2
09 URBAN SCIENCE ACADEMY 5–8 132 26.0
09 EXIMIUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY 6–11 112 25.9
09 COMPREHENSIVE MODEL SCHOOL PROJECT M.S. 327 6–8 44 20.0
09 MOTT HALL III 6–8 55 19.4
09 J.H.S. 022 JORDAN L. MOTT 5–8 131 18.6
09 KAPPA 5–8 33 11.1
SOURCE: New York City Department of Education, requested data run from ATS, July 2008, school year 2007-08.
NOTES: This chart incorporates data from two comparable student attendance datasets, both run after year close of the 2007–2008 school year. There were marginal differences in the
number of students reported in each dataset. Results include PK and all grades. Districts 75 and 79 excluded. Charter schools excluded.
community partner is crucial, Eckstein says. But it’s an important strategy to consider if the city is
serious about trying to close the achievement gap.
There are simpler strategies as well. LaTrella Penny at Agenda for Children Tomorrow emphasizes that
schools need to be a friendly haven for the child. “If the school is a place that children want to come
to, no matter what’s going on at home, children are going to come to school,” she says. “I work with