Student attendance decreases as teachers’ strike moves to day two
January 15, 2019
While teachers across Los Angeles are protesting for their rights and better public education, a fraction of their students sit in classrooms while others stay at home. All of them are left to wonder how long the strike will continue to affect their learning.
“The school seems empty today and the parking lot even more so,” senior Lauryn Uhlenberg said. “I think that the administrators are dealing with us to the best of their ability, whether that be grouping us off and letting us be on our phones or attempting to cover the basics of math or other subjects.”
At Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS), only 178 students were in attendance on the initial day of the strike. By the end of the school day, half of them had already been picked up by their parents.
The second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) strike proved even more detrimental to attendance as only 93 students were present and many were still picked up early. Even less are expected to arrive on Wednesday as many students are frustrated and find it pointless to attend if there is no instructional material being taught.
“The fact that the teachers aren’t here, it’s kind of ruining it for the kids because we’re not learning,” sophomore Petra Vass said. “It’s wasting our time.”
Students were once again placed in three groups, rotating once at nutrition and then again at lunch between the same three stations that each consisted of 28 students. Two of the classes showed videos, while the third allowed them to work freely or assigned them work.
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Math, Science, and the Notorious RBG for instruction today! No wasted time!
Although some students did attend the first day, they were absent the second, and vice versa. Several only opted to go in fear of the effect it would have on their attendance record, to which the Los Angeles Unified School District has recently confirmed that any absences throughout the strike will not affect students in a negative manner.
“This is a difficult time for everyone involved but it’s for a good cause,” Uhlenberg said.
