Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks across the US
Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures
By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS
Published - Aug 11, 2023, 12:10 AM ET
Last Updated - Aug 11, 2023, 12:11 AM EDT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negrón and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming.
Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negrón's son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name.
Her son didn’t want to go to school anymore. And she didn’t feel he was safe there.
He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade.
