Santa Rosa schools OK Saturday make-up program

Santa Rosa students with unexcused absences will soon have a chance to make up those missed days by attending school on Saturday.

The Santa Rosa City Schools board on Wednesday night approved a contract with an outside company, Educational Consulting Services, to organize what will be called Academic Attendance Coordinated Recovery Programs at schools at all levels across the district.

For some, the term “Saturday school” conjures scenes like those depicted in the movie “The Breakfast Club,” where bored, unsupervised students spend more time sorting out social hierarchies and narrowly avoiding trouble than doing schoolwork.

This, said Assistant Superintendent Diann Kitamura, will be far from that. The idea, she said, is to provide engaging programs that will draw out not only kids who need to make up attendance, but also others who are looking for an interesting way to spend their Saturday. It also will allow the district to regain state funds based on student attendance that are lost when students have unexcused absences from school.

The 16,330-student district saw 16,489 absences just between the start of school and Sept. 30, Kitamura said. That means the school lost out on close to $1 million from the state in just a month and a half. The district could recover a portion of that by allowing students a chance to make up their absences over the weekend.

However, students will not be able to regain lost credits through the program.

That prompted board member Laura Gonzalez to question why high school students would give up their Saturday to attend.

Kitamura responded that the program is designed to be fun and enriching, a way for students to engage in activities they might already be doing on Saturdays.

Students might be able to participate in a garden club, study for a high school exit exam, work on a senior project, work on a musical performance or even engage in an intramural sport, she said. At the same time, lessons will be based on state standards and taught by district teachers.

“We’re really looking at it as an extension of school with a focus on enrichment,” Kitamura said outside the meeting.

Some of these things are already happening on the weekend, she said. This will be a chance for teachers to get paid for leading such activities and for schools to potentially benefit financially by regaining lost attendance dollars.

Superintendent Socorro Shiels added that the program isn’t meant to be punitive or fix the district’s worst truancy problems.

“This isn’t a truancy abatement program. That requires a whole other level of support,” she said.

If a student has an unexcused absence, he or she can make up that day by attending one Saturday program.

Each time that happens, the district will get a little over $58 from the state. Of that amount, $6 will go back to the group organizing the program for the district.

After teachers are paid for their time, the additional proceeds will be split between the district and the school site, with the school site keeping 60 percent.

ECS estimates that about 20 students with an unexcused absence need to attend each session for the program to break even. Other school districts using the same program, such as Napa Valley Unified School District, are making money, Kitamura said.

Teachers union president Amy Stern raised a concern that teachers hadn’t been consulted first and that she worried that the program appeared to be more about recovering dollars tied to attendance than educating students.

Kitamura replied that the main impetus for the program came from a desire to have a place outside the regular school day where students could come catch up on attendance or subjects they’re struggling with. The goal was more to provide additional options to students than to recapture state funds, she said.

The board approved the deal with ECS to run the program for one year pending a review of the contract by district’s legal counsel, with board member Ron Kristof voting against the deal because he wanted additional time to learn more about it. He also questioned whether the program could have been administered internally, rather than through a contractor.

Board President Bill Carle said he was willing to approve the program on a one-year basis. “To my view it’s extended learning,” he said. “It has potential, but I’m not sure (yet) what the long-term potential is.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jamie Hansen at jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5205. On Twitter @jamiehansen.