Claremont Middle School and Oakland Tech Recorded High Truancy Rate Last Year

New numbers from the California Department of Education show that Rockridge's public intermediate and secondary schools had extremely high truancy rates during the 2011-12 school year. A truant is defined as a student who misses 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times or more during a school year.

Claremont Middle School had a truancy rate of 89.1 percent and Oakland Technical High School had a truancy rate of 89.8 percent.  

The numbers also show that black students at Claremont Middle School and Oakland Tech received the overwhelming majority of out-of-school suspensions.

Of the 161 Oakland Tech students who received at least one out-of-school suspension during the 2011-12 school year, 120 were black. At Claremont Middle School, 109 out of 120 suspended students were black. 

In October, OUSD's governing board voted unanimously to let the feds make sure black students in the district are treated fairly when it comes to classroom discipline

The numbers partially reflect statewide trends. Here's an excerpt of a press release issued by the California Department of Education Friday: 

A review of the data indicates there are some differences in the rates at which some student groups are suspended. For example, the data show African-American students are 6.5 percent of total enrollment, but make up 19 percent of suspensions. White students are 26 percent of total enrollment, but represent 20 percent of suspensions. Hispanic students are 52 percent of total enrollment, and 54 percent of suspensions.

The California Department of Education is working on several initiatives to address these differences in rates by identifying positive alternatives to suspension and expulsion, as well as developing effective strategies to improve attendance as part of an overarching initiative to keep students in school. The Department has partnered with several organizations to work on these initiatives, including The California Endowment, the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, the Region IX Equity Assistance Center at WestEd, and Attendance Works.