Education

More than 30% of Newton students absent on strike make-up days

Newton Public Schools canceled this week's February break to make up some of the 11 days missed during the Newton teachers strike. But around one third of students were absent from class both Monday and Tuesday.

Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

By Emily Spatz

2 minutes to read

More than one third of Newton students were absent on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the first two make-up days scheduled to make up for time missed during the Newton teacher strike that ended in early February.

While students still had off for President’s Day on Monday, the School Committee decided earlier this month to use the rest of February break this year — which is Feb. 20 to Feb. 23 —  to make up for school days lost to the strike. Under state law, schools must be in session for at least 180 days. 

On Tuesday, 31.4% of students from across the district were absent, including 31.1% of elementary students, 36.5% of middle schoolers, and 28.2% of high schoolers, Superintendent Anna Nolin said in an email to Boston.com.

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On Wednesday, that rate rose to 32.3% of students absent out of the 11,664 enrolled in the school system. The average attendance rate for Newton students was 94.3% for the 2022-2023 school year, according to state data. 

Newton schools need to make up a total of 13 days lost this academic year — 11 of which are from the strike, which lasted for over two weeks. The strike started Jan. 19 and ended Feb. 4, when the Newton Teachers Association announced that union members had voted to approve a contract that boosts wages and allows more days for parental and family leave. 

In a Feb. 1 School Committee meeting, Nolin said that due to short notice of the break’s cancelation, students of all grades will not be penalized for missing make-up days and that missed days will not apply to the district’s high school attendance standard, which allows two unexcused absences each semester. 

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“Families, you’re going to have to make a decision that’s best for you and your family,” Nolin said at the meeting. “We’re not going to punish children and families that are doing what they need to do on those days, should they become school days, but we would expect as much attendance as possible so that students can remediate what has been lost for them.”

Some parents told The Boston Globe ahead of the break that they would move forward with vacation and travel plans despite the makeup days, while others canceled planned trips. 

Some schools sent out information outlining what instruction would look like for the week.

“We want to ensure that our students in school [Feb. 20 – Feb 23] have a valuable academic experience, while also not penalizing those who are absent,” Newton North High School said in a FAQ document sent to families.

The document says teachers will be “mindful” that some students will be absent and try to provide schoolwork ahead of time. 

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