NEWARK - City school attendance is up and chronic absenteeism is down for all grades, according to data presented by Newark public school district officials.

About a week before classes are back in session, Rochanda Jackson, district executive director of the office of policy, planning, evaluation and testing, gave a presentation on the public-school attendance rate at the Aug. 21 Board of Education meeting.

Districtwide, the average attendance rate for 41,000 preK-12 students in the Garden State’s largest school district was 95.1%, according to Jackson. That is up from 94.8% in the 2023-24 academic year.

Jackson reported an overall drop in the district’s chronic absenteeism rate from 12.1% in 2024 to 10.4%.

Chronic absenteeism – one of the most persistent challenges facing America’

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