IPS officials work to locate thousands of students absent from classes

Attendance at about 77 percent on first day, expected to increase

Vanessa McClure

3:07 p.m. EDT, August 10, 2011

Administrators with Indianapolis Public Schools are looking for thousands of students who did not show up for classes.

IPS officials reported that around 5,000 students did not show up for classes on the second day, and attendance averaged at 87 percent. However, attendance was up by about 10 percent from the first day.

Vanessa McClure
Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

District officials are optimistic they will see attendance numbers increase as the week goes on.

One way officials are working to see more students attend classes is to call the students’ families personally. Officials are getting social workers, principals and administrators to track down the students who were absent. A key to keeping the system running is getting up-to-date information on the students.

Officials say if the calling system does not increase the number of students attending classes, they will personally go to their homes.

The official number of student in attendance will be released on September 16. That is the number IPS will report to the state to determine financial aid for the district.

wxin-ips-absent-students-ips-officials-work-to-locate-thousands-of-students-absent-from-classes-20110810