Community Corner
Morning Report: The Familiar, Uneven Crisis Of Chronic Absenteeism
Plus: The La Jolla secession is more real this time.
March 13, 2023
Chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed nationwide since the Covid pandemic hit. San Diego Unified, like the state as a whole, has seen the percentage of students chronically absent from school nearly triple from pre-pandemic levels. But that bad news isn’t borne out equally.
Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What the numbers show: Of the 15 San Diego Unified schools with the highest levels of chronic absenteeism, more than two-thirds are located south of state Route 94 and in some of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city.
Seven of those schools are in the same ZIP code, which has the lowest median income in the county. At those schools, between 89 and 63 percent of students are chronically absent.
Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Experts say these numbers represent a crisis, and there are some fixes to issues like transportation troubles that existed even before the pandemic. But the jury is out on whether schools know how to deal with the trickier issues of mental and social-emotional health brought on by Covid that are likely exacerbating chronic absenteeism disparities.
Politics Report: La Jolla Secession, More Real This Time
It has been easy to ignore the latest movement to incorporate La Jolla because it has been an old saw in local public affairs. Now, though, it seems it might be worth a look.
The Politics Report got some confirmation that things are getting real and as one person put it, “… it seems it has some legs to it too …”
Right now a pro in the biz and city reps are analyzing the revenues and costs associated with such a move. It’s not going to be an easy break up if it happens, there are two focal points that will matter. Read about those in the Politics Report.
The weekly politics roundup is available to Voice of San Diego members. Support our work here and subscribe to the Politics Report.
VOSD Podcast: In the latest episode, our podcasts hosts take turns dropping some hot takes on downtown San Diego. A recent national story featured the city’s civic core for its ability to return to pre-pandemic activity levels. This was based on sales tax revenue levels and cell phone activity. The hosts explain how the area’s current status is much more complicated.
Listen to the episode here. Or wherever you get your pods.
In Other News
- ICYMI: Our managing editor of daily news rounded up top stories from our reporters and news you need to know to start your week. Read the latest Cup of Chisme here.
- A jury awarded former KUSI anchor Sandra Mass more than $1.5 million in a discrimination lawsuit against the company that owns the station. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego’s own professional wrestler Rey Mysterio will be inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment’s Hall of Fame. (Times of San Diego)
- Get your umbrellas ready for tomorrow. Here are the areas that will get the most rain. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news organization supported by our members. We reveal why things are the way they are and expose facts that people in power might not want out there and explain complex local public policy issues so you can be engaged and make good decisions. Sign up for our newsletters at voiceofsandiego.org/newsletters/.
