From: Cayata Dixon -------------------- First-day attendance rises in Chicago Public Schools -------------------- By Michael Martinez Tribune staff reporter September 5, 2001, 5:02 PM CDT Nearly 41,000 more children than a year ago showed up for the first day of classes in the Chicago Public Schools, and school officials today attributed the improvement to the city's recent 10-day countdown to school initiative. A total of 372,891 kids, from kindergarten through 12th grade, turned out Tuesday for the first day of school compared with 332,184 last year, according to a joint announcement by schools Chief Executive Arne Duncan and Board of Education President Michael Scott. Duncan described as "unprecedented" the increase of first-day attendance from last year. "When you get 40,000 more students in school, that's a major accomplishment," Duncan said at a news conference this afternoon at Marshall High School, 3250 W. Adams St. But when reminded that about 65,000 students were still absent, Duncan acknowledged there's room for improvement. "While we're very, very pleased, we're not satisfied," he said. Tuesday's absenteeism rate, roughly 15 percent, was a marked improvement from the 25-percent rate - with one in four children staying home -- on the first day of school last year. But it was still nearly double the level of absences for an average school day, when 8.4 percent of students fail to show. The Chicago Public Schools is the third-largest school system in the U.S., with 597 elementary and high schools and an estimated enrollment this school year of 437,720 children, up from 435,000 last year. Copyright (c) 2001, Chicago Tribune -------------------- Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune Today! Good Eating, Your Place, and TV Week -- just a few reasons to get the Chicago Tribune at home every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Subscribe by calling 1-800-TRIBUNE (1-800-874-2863) or online at chicagotribune.com/subscribe -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
