Truancy, Absenteeism A Chronic Problem In D.C. Schools

Relisha Rudd Missed More Than 30 Days Of School Before Her Disappearance. That's Not Abnormal, In D.C. Schools
This handout photo provided by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department shows eight-year old Relisha Tenau Rudd. The Metropolitan Police Department announced that an Amber Alert has been issued for Rudd. She was last seen in the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue, SE in Washington. (AP Photo/Washington Metropolitan Police Department)
This handout photo provided by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department shows eight-year old Relisha Tenau Rudd. The Metropolitan Police Department announced that an Amber Alert has been issued for Rudd. She was last seen in the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue, SE in Washington. (AP Photo/Washington Metropolitan Police Department)

When students at the District’s Simon Elementary show up for school on time, they reach for a numbered index card. It’s their ticket for that day’s attendance raffle.

The prizes are small — a ruler, a calculator, a bag of candy — but they are enough to trigger shrieks of celebration each morning in the cafeteria, and administrators hope they also are enough to help nudge more children through the front door of the schoolhouse. The reward program is one of the more visible parts of a much broader effort to tackle rampant truancy at Simon and other schools across the city.

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