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Education officials and activists are concerned about an increase in the number of American students who are absent for many days during the school year.
教育官员和活动人士对美国学生在学年中缺勤天数的增加感到担忧。
Education policy experts call the problem "chronic absenteeism."
教育政策专家将这一问题称为“长期缺勤”。
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10 percent, or about a total of 18 days, out of the school year.
长期缺勤被定义为一学年缺勤率超过10%，约合18天。
The 18 days do not need to be missed at one time and can be missed for any reason.
这18天不必是一次性缺课天数，可能因任何原因缺课。
Joshua Childs is a professor of education policy at the University of Texas, Austin.
约书亚·蔡尔兹是得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的教育政策教授。
He said in an interview with the American Association for the Advancement of Science that, on average, 7.5 to 8 million students each year are chronically absent from school in the United States.
他在接受美国科学促进会采访时表示，美国平均每年有750万至800万学生长期缺勤。
But since the COVID-19 pandemic, that number has increased to at least 10 million a year.
但自从新冠疫情以来，这一数字已经增加到每年至少1000万学生长期缺勤。
In Los Angeles schools, the second largest school district in the country, nearly half of students were considered chronically absent during the 2021-2022 school year.
在美国第二大学区洛杉矶的学校，在2021-2022学年，近一半的学生被认为长期缺勤。
In Chicago, about 45 percent of students were chronically absent.
在芝加哥，约45%的学生长期缺勤。
Following the pandemic, "chronic absenteeism reached levels never before seen in this community," Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told reporters in February.
在疫情爆发后，洛杉矶联合学区负责人阿尔贝托·卡瓦略在2月份告诉记者：“长期缺勤率达到了这个社区从未有过的水平。”
Educators say students need to attend school regularly to be successful.
教育工作者表示，学生需要定期上学才能取得成功。
Childs said being absent from school hurts students both academically and socially.
蔡尔兹说，缺课对学生的学业和社交都造成了伤害。
"Students who are chronically absent or miss a significant amount of school are more likely to drop out and are less likely to graduate from high school," Childs said.
蔡尔兹说：“长期缺勤的学生更有可能辍学，高中毕业的可能性也更小。”
He added that students who miss a lot of school are less likely to feel connected with the school community and build relationships with other students and teachers.
他补充说，经常缺课的学生不太可能感觉到与学校社区的联系，也不太可能与其他学生和老师建立关系。
The Education Trust is a non-profit education research organization.
教育信托是一个非营利性的教育研究机构。
In a report published in March, the group said that poor students, students of color, and students who do not speak English at home are the most likely to miss a lot of school.
该组织在3月份发布的一份报告中表示，贫困学生、有色人种学生和在家不说英语的学生最有可能缺课。
Those students are also more likely to lack the ability to make up for the lost time.
这些学生也更有可能缺乏弥补失去的上课时间的能力。
There are many reasons why students miss a lot of school.
学生缺课的原因有很多。
Childs said the lung condition of asthma; obesity, or being extremely overweight; and dental problems are the leading physical causes.
蔡尔兹说，哮喘等肺部疾病、肥胖或极度超重以及牙齿问题是主要的生理原因。
Since the pandemic, mental health problems also have increased.
自疫情爆发以来，心理健康问题也有所增加。
There may also be community and neighborhood problems that play a part in attendance, Childs said.
蔡尔兹说，也可能是社区问题影响了出勤率。
Certain conditions also can affect attendance.
某些情况也会影响出勤率。
These include whether a student has safe transportation to and from school or whether the school itself is a safe environment.
其中包括学生是否有安全的交通工具往返学校，或者学校本身是否是一个安全的环境。
Childs added that if families do not feel connected with the school community or do not value education that can add to absenteeism.
蔡尔兹补充说，如果家庭感觉不到与学校社区的联系，或者不重视教育，这可能会增加缺勤率。
The Education Trust report advised districts to deal with the underlying issues that are keeping students out of school to improve attendance.
教育信托组织的报告建议学区解决导致学生失学的根本问题，以提高出勤率。
It said answers require cooperation between students, families and the community.
报告称，找出答案需要学生、家庭和社区之间的合作。
Traditionally, students and families have been punished for low attendance.
传统上，学生和家庭会因为出勤率低而受到惩罚。
In extreme cases, parents can be sentenced to jail if their children are absent from school too often.
在极端情况下，如果孩子经常缺课，父母可能会被判入狱。
But punishing students and families for being absent has "not been shown to improve attendance," and can even make the problem worse, the group's report said.
但该组织的报告称，惩罚缺勤的学生和家庭“并没有提高出勤率”，甚至可能会让问题变得更糟。
In Los Angeles this year, improving attendance was a top issue for the district.
在洛杉矶，提高出勤率是该学区今年的首要问题。
The city hired workers to visit homes to find students who had been absent to get them back into school.
该市雇人上门寻找缺课的学生，让他们重返学校。
The district also hired more attendance counselors to assist families in getting housing, food, or even transportation.
该学区还聘请了更多的出勤顾问，帮助家庭获得住房、食物，甚至交通工具。
Los Angeles schools superintendent Carvalho told the Philadelphia Inquirer in May that the district had seen a 32 percent decrease in chronic absenteeism.
洛杉矶学校负责人卡瓦略在5月份告诉《费城询问报》，该学区的长期缺勤率下降了32%。
The Education Trust said chronic absenteeism is a community problem that should be dealt with using community-based methods.
教育信托组织表示，长期缺勤是一个社区问题，应该使用基于社区的方法来解决。
"Unless school leaders draw upon the knowledge of their students and families, they are unlikely to create effective solutions," the report said.
报告称：“除非学校领导知悉他们的学生及其家庭的情况，否则他们不太可能创造出有效的解决方案。”
I'm Dan Novak.
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译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
