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Flerentin Jean-Baptiste missed school so often that he had to repeat his first year at Medford High School near Boston.
弗莱伦坦-让-巴蒂斯特经常缺课，以至于他不得不在波士顿附近的梅德福高中重读一年级。
Jean-Baptiste said, at school, "You do the same thing every day." He was absent 30 days in his first year.
让-巴蒂斯特说，在学校，“你每天都做同样的事情”。第一年，他缺席了 30 天。
Then the principal of the school did something different: She let students play organized sports during lunch — if they attended all their classes.
然后，学校校长做了一件不同的事情：如果学生们上了所有的课，她就让他们在午餐时间参加有组织的体育活动。
In other words, she offered high school students a play period that is usually part of the school day for young children.
换句话说，她为高中生提供了一个游戏时间，而这通常是幼儿上学才有的时光。
"It gave me something to look forward to," said 16-year-old Jean-Baptiste. The following year, he cut his absences in half.
“这让我有了一些期待，”16岁的让-巴蒂斯特说。第二年，他的缺勤率减少了一半。
Schoolwide, the share of regularly absent students dropped from 35 percent in March 2023 to 23 percent in March 2024.
全校范围内，经常缺勤的学生比例从2023年3月的35%下降到2024年3月的23%。
That was one of the biggest reductions among Massachusetts high schools.
这是马萨诸塞州高中中降幅最大的学校之一。
The Associated Press and Stanford University economist Thomas Dee have studied attendance numbers from 42 states and Washington, D.C. They found that years after the school closings from the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in nearly every state are still struggling with attendance.
美联社和斯坦福大学经济学家托马斯-迪研究了美国 42 个州和华盛顿特区的出勤率。他们发现，在 新冠导致学校关闭多年后，几乎每个州的学校仍在努力提高出勤率。
About one in four students in the 2022-23 school year were chronically absent.
在2022-23学年，大约四分之一的学生长期缺勤。
That means they missed at least 10 percent of the school year.
这意味着他们至少错过了本学年10%的时间。
That number represents about 12 million children in states reporting numbers of absent students.
在报告缺席学生人数的各州中，这一数字代表了约 1200 万名儿童。
Before the pandemic, only 15 percent of students missed school that often.
在疫情之前，只有15%的学生经常缺课。
After spending as much as a year at home during the pandemic, many children see school as more than they can handle, uninteresting or socially stressful.
大流行期间，许多儿童在家中度过了长达一年的时间，他们认为学校超出了他们的承受能力，没有兴趣或社交压力很大。
Some children and parents are deciding it is no problem to stay home. That makes completing class work even harder.
一些孩子和家长认为待在家里没问题。这使得完成课堂作业更加困难。
In all but one state, Arkansas, absence rates remain higher than they were before the pandemic.
在除了阿肯色州之外的所有州，缺勤率仍然高于疫情之前的水平。
Still, the problem appears to have passed its highest point; almost every state saw absenteeism go down at least a little during the two full school years ending in 2023.
不过，这个问题似乎已经开始改善；在截至2023年的两个完整学年里，几乎每个州的缺勤率都至少有所下降。
Schools are trying to identify students with attendance problems so they can help.
学校正在努力识别有出勤问题的学生，以便他们能够提供帮助。
They are also trying to communicate better with parents.
他们也在努力更好地与家长沟通。
Some parents might not know their child is missing a lot of school or its effects on their performance.
一些父母可能不知道他们的孩子缺了很多课，或者不知道这对他们的成绩有什么影响。
Experts say schools must get creative to meet their students' needs.
专家表示，学校必须发挥创造力以满足学生的需求。
In Oakland, California, chronic absenteeism in public schools sharply rose from 29 percent before the pandemic to 53 percent during the 2022-23 school year.
在加利福尼亚州的奥克兰，公立学校的长期缺勤率从疫情前的29%急剧上升到2022-23学年的53%。
Officials asked students what would make them want to come to class. They answered, money and a mentor.
官员们问学生们什么会让他们想来上课。他们回答说，钱和导师。
In spring 2023, the Oakland school district received a grant to pay 45 students $50 weekly to attend school every day.
在2023年春季，奥克兰学区获得了一笔拨款，用于每周支付45名学生50美元，让他们每天上学。
Sixty percent of those in the program improved their attendance.
该计划中有百分之六十的人改善了他们的出勤情况。
Zaia Vera is the district's head of social-emotional learning.
扎亚-维拉是该地区社会情感学习的负责人。
Vera said paying students cannot continue for a long time, but many absent students lacked dependable housing or were helping to support their families. "The money is the hook that got them in the door."
维拉说，付费学生的情况无法长期持续，但许多旷课学生缺乏可靠的住房或正在帮助养家糊口。“钱是吸引他们进门的诱饵。”
A caring teacher made a difference for 18-year-old Golden Tachiquin.
一位有爱心的老师改变了18岁的戈尔登·塔奇金的命运。
She completed her studies at Oakland's Skyline High School this spring.
她在今年春天在奥克兰的天际线高中完成了学业。
Coming back to school after the pandemic, she felt lost and anxious.
疫情后回到学校，她感到迷茫和焦虑。
She later realized these feelings made her feel physically sick. She was absent at least 25 days that year.
她后来意识到这些情绪让她感到身体不适。她那年至少缺勤了25天。
One Afro-Latina teacher seemed to understand her culturally and made Tachiquin feel she belonged in class. Tachiquin already received good grades.
一位非裔拉丁裔教师似乎从文化上理解她，让塔奇金觉得自己在课堂上有归属感。塔奇金已经取得了好成绩。
In Massachusetts, Medford High School requires administrators to welcome and talk with students each morning, especially those who miss a lot of class.
在马萨诸塞州，梅德福高中要求管理人员每天早上迎接并与学生交谈，尤其是那些经常缺课的学生。
But playtime at lunch has had the greatest effect on improved attendance, Principal Marta Cabral said.
但是，校长玛尔塔·卡布拉尔说，午餐时间的玩耍对提高出勤率产生了最大的影响。
High school students need freedom and a chance to move their bodies, she said. "They're here for seven hours a day. They should have a little fun."
她说，高中生需要自由和活动身体的机会。“他们每天在这里待七个小时。他们应该有点乐趣。”
Many of the reasons given for students missing school early in the pandemic are still in place.
疫情早期学生缺课的许多原因仍然存在。
They include financial difficulty, transportation problems, mild illness and mental health struggles.
它们包括财务困难、交通问题、轻微疾病和心理健康问题。
For example, a study from the University of Southern California said parents reported that almost one fourth of chronically absent students had emotional or behavioral problems, compared with just seven percent of those with good attendance.
例如，南加州大学的一项研究称，父母报告说，几乎四分之一的长期缺勤学生有情绪或行为问题，而那些出勤良好的学生中只有7%有这些问题。
At Fresno's Fort Miller Middle School, half of the students were chronically absent.
在弗雷斯诺的米勒堡中学，有一半的学生长期缺勤。
Two reasons kept coming up: dirty clothing and no transportation.
两个原因不断浮现：脏衣服和没有交通工具。
The school bought a washer and dryer for families to use.
学校买了一台洗衣机和一台烘干机供家庭使用。
It also provided a vehicle to pick up students who missed the bus.
它还提供了一种交通工具，可以接那些错过公交车的学生。
Fresno's chronic absenteeism improved to 35 percent during the school year ending in 2023.
弗雷斯诺的长期缺勤率在截至2023年的学年期间提高到了35%。
Fourteen-year-old Melinda Gonzalez missed the school bus about once a week. So, she called for rides from the school vehicle.
14岁的梅林达·冈萨雷斯每周大约错过一次校车。所以，她打电话叫学校的车辆来接她。
"I don't have a car; my parents couldn't drive me to school," Gonzalez said. "Getting that ride made a big difference."
“我没有车；我的父母也不能开车送我去学校，”冈萨雷斯说。“搭便车会有很大的不同。”
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr. And I’m Jill Robbins.
我是小马里奥·里特。我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
