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Chicago Public Schools' First Day Attendance Declines By 10% Compared With Past Five Years

(CBS) -- Chicago Public Schools today announced that 84.2% of students at district schools attended remote learning classes on the first day of class on Tuesday, a decline from past years that officials said was due to COVID-19 and the district's move to e-learning to start the semester.

Attendance rates have steadily increased throughout the week, to 90.2% on Thursday.

"The overwhelming majority of our students showed up ready and eager to learn on the first day of school, and I am so proud of our staff and school communities who have been working tirelessly over the summer to ensure families had what they need to log-in on day one," said CPS CEO, Dr. Janice K. Jackson.

"While our first day attendance rate is lower than in-person school comparisons due to challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I am encouraged by our outreach efforts, which will remain ongoing as we work to ensure families have what they need to participate in remote learning."

Here are the numbers for the past five school years:

2020-21 School Year: 84.2 percent
2019-20 School Year: 94.2 percent
2018-19 School Year: 94.5 percent
2017-18 School Year: 94.7 percent
2016-17 School Year: 93.9 percent

Starting next week, school security officiers will visit homes of students that schools have been unable to contact. CPS officials say CPS security officers were trained on how to conduct home visits in preparation for returning to school.

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