As a nation, we are confronting an alarming crisis in K-12 education that goes beyond the effects of a global pandemic.

Before the pandemic, roughly 1 in 10 students in Los Angeles County and across our state were chronically absent. Now, in many schools, almost half of our students are missing from our classrooms on a regular basis, with disproportionate rates of chronic absence among historically underserved students of color.

To address learning loss, we must first acknowledge a simple truth: We can’t help students learn if they’re not present. Read More …