Attendance rates take a dip during distance learning

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Virtual learning is taking a toll on attendance for some school districts.

Logging on to class isn't always just a click away for students.

"Wi-Fi that works and sometimes doesn't, everything you are dealing with we is dealing with," said Fresno Unified's attendance coordinator Kristi Jackson. "It's just every day different obstacles for kids to get into live instruction."

Fresno Unified started the fall at roughly 90% attendance and said that number is going up every week.

"Some kids were waiting on technology, some technology had broken, so we had to return them, we were figuring out different things with the hot spots," added Jackson.

Now they're up to 93%, normally at this time of year, that number is 95%.

"We're pulling reports all the time to find out who's missing and who's not signing in," added Jackson. "We're reaching out through text message, emails, calls and home visits."

A big barrier is still technology.

"Another large barrier is parents are still working, and they're having to put their kids into daycare still or grandmas watching them," said Jackson.

Central Unified also noticed a slight dip, down just less than 1% from this time last year. They're at roughly 96% attendance.

Clovis Unified has seen attendance between 97-98%. Kings Canyon Unified has seen about 98% attendance.