DURHAM COUNTY

Durham students failing, leaving district during

COVID pandemic
BY CHARLIE INNIS
UPDATED FEBRUARY 12, 2021 10:07 AM

   

Nearly half of Durham Public Schools middle and high school students failed at least one virtual class during the first quarter of the 2020-21
school year.
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Nearly half of Durham Public Schools secondary students failed at least one class
during the first three months of the school year, school district data shows.

About 55.5% of middle school and 42.8% of high school students got an “F” in one
class or more during the first quarter. That was up from 31.5% of middle school and
29.7% of high school students during the same period in 2019.

The News & Observer made a public information request for the data. It shows that,
for the first quarter of the 2020-21 school year, more DPS students received failing
grades and missed four or more days of school during the COVID-19 pandemic than
they had the previous year.

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The data shows a disparity between students of color and their white peers, who as a
group had fewer absences while Black and Hispanic students had more. White high
school students’ attendance actually rose slightly this school year.

A total of 31,577 students are enrolled in Durham Public Schools, according to the
district. The student body is 44% African-American, 33.2% Hispanic, and 19.3%
white. About 4.2% of students are multiracial and just over 2% are Asian.

Kezia Goodwin, a child care professional who works with low-income DPS students,
said the pandemic has exacerbated systemic challenges. Many low-income students
of color may, for example, live in a household with a single parent who works
outside the home, while white parents in Durham may be more able to work
remotely.

“Parents have to work. They have to go out. These essential workers are out there
doing what they need to do,” she said. “That leaves them to an older sibling. Maybe
that older sibling can’t handle that. That’s not their role, that’s not their job.”
Percentage of Students With Four or More
Absences in the First Quarter
2019-20 2020-21

Black
18.6%
28.9%

Hispanic
15.6%
30.3%

White
10.5%
8.9%

Other
13.0%
18.2%

Exceptional Children
19.7%
30.9%

English Lanuage Learner

16.1%
36.8%

All Students
15.7%
24.9%

Chart: Charlie Innis • Source: Durham Public Schools • Get the data • Created with Datawrapper

The district estimated 2,850 students transferred out of Durham’s public school
system within the first three weeks of the quarter, which ran from Aug. 17 to Oct. 17,
the data shows.

A total of 216 more students were also marked as “unaccounted for,” which means
the district lost contact with them. The students could have dropped out or moved
elsewhere without their parents telling the district.

Grade data is not yet available for the second quarter, which ended Jan. 15.

PANDEMIC MAKES INEQUITIES WORSE

“The data is concerning,” said school board member Natalie Beyer. “It shows what
everyone fears. That students, like everyone, are struggling during this pandemic.”

The data received by The N&O breaks elementary, middle and high school students
into five subgroups: Black, Hispanic, White, Other, Exceptional Children, and English
Language Learners.

While all five subgroups received more “F” letter grades in at least once class in the
first quarter of the 2020-21 school year compared to last year, some had a much
higher percentage of students who failed a class than others.

About 37% of Black and Hispanic middle school students and 9.6% of white students
failed a class in the first quarter of the 2019-20 school year.

After one quarter of virtual classes this school year, 58.9% of Black and 70.3% of
Hispanic middle school students had failed a class. The percentage for white middle
school students for that period was 22.7%.

A higher number of students in the Exceptional Children program, for kids with
disabilities, and English language learning students, also received more absences
and failing grades this year versus last year.

Percentage of Middle School Students With at Least

One Failure in the First Quarter
2019-20 2020-21

Black
37.1%
58.9%

Hispanic
37.3%
70.3%

White
9.6%
22.7%

Other Races
21.6%
39.7%

Exceptional Children
48.6%
64.3%

English Lanuage Learner

51.8%
83.5%

All Students
31.5%
55.5%

Chart: Charlie Innis • Source: Durham Public Schools • Get the data • Created with Datawrapper
Percentage of High School Students With at Least
One Failure in the First Quarter
2019-20 2020-21

Black
33.4%
44.0%

Hispanic
37.5%
55.9%

White
11.2%
19.7%

Other Races
18.5%
33.5%

Exceptional Children
38.1%
53.2%

English Lanuage Learner

44.0%
66.7%

All Students
29.7%
42.8%

Chart: Charlie Innis • Source: Durham Public Schools • Get the data • Created with Datawrapper

“These numbers are just amazing to me,” Goodwin said. “The EC students, the
numbers, it’s hard enough for them as it is, right? And now you’re going to put them
in a front of a computer and try to connect.”

Goodwin owns Kate’s Korner, a child care center that operates as a learning center
in partnership with DPS for students to log into their online classrooms outside their
homes.

Some of the kids she serves have parents who are homeless, she said. A week ago,
two students joined the center who had never logged into any of their classes.

“There are a number of students that way,” she said. “But the students that we serve
are brilliant, wonderful minded children who have lack of access, parents who are
having a hard time trusting the school system, parents who don’t understand what
advocating for your children means in its totality.”

In a statement, Superintendent Pascal Mubenga said teaching and learning during a

pandemic brings a host of challenges for DPS students.

“In addition to the challenges of maintaining engagement during remote learning,

students and their families are facing economic distress, isolation and other
pressures,” he said. “We have been continuing to improve remote instruction over
time, from ensuring that all students have technology and connectivity at home to
increased personal outreach and intervention.”

WHEN DID THE SCHOOL BOARD SEE THE DATA?

DPS spokesperson Chip Sudderth said the district sent school board members the
grade and attendance data electronically Dec. 18, as part of a periodic update when
public meetings aren’t in session.

When asked to comment on the data, board Chair Bettina Umstead said she didn’t
know if she had seen it before. After The N&O forwarded her copies of the data, she
said she would need “to dig into this a little more” and call back.

Beyer also said she did not know if the school board had received the data
previously. “I don’t recall it being publicly presented or discussed,” she said.

Sudderth said the data was part of a large package of board updates.

“Those can be big piles with like two or three attachments, in addition to bullet
points and paragraphs about stuff. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had been
overlooked,” he said.

The N&O called and left voice-mails for vice-chair Mike Lee, board member
Alexandra Valladares and Jovonia Lewis, and did not hear back by 3 p.m, Thursday.

CURRENT REOPENING PLAN

Durham Public Schools has remained remote since the onset of the coronavirus
pandemic last spring.

The board voted on Jan. 7 to keep students home through spring for the rest of the
traditional school year. But a bill passed by the state Senate and the House may
compel the district to bring students back anyway, if it finds support from the
governor.

Umstead said she supports safely re-opening schools, but opposes the bill because it
takes away local control.

“I do believe that school boards know their communities best,” she said. “They know
their district best and are able to make decisions based on want they know about
their areas.”

Beyer said she is grateful to hear that educators will be eligible for vaccinations in
N.C. beginning Feb. 24.

Attendance and Grading Snapshot 2020-21 Q1 12-17-2020 v2 Revised (1) by Charlie Innis on Scribd
 
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Student Withdrawals by Race and Subgroup 1920 to 2021 12-17-2020 (1) by Charlie Innis on Scribd

 
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 This story was originally published February 11, 2021 3:21 PM.

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CHARLIE INNIS

Charlie Innis covers Durham government for The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun through the Poynter-
Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship. He has been a New York-based freelance writer, covering housing and
technology for Kings County Politics, with additional reporting for the Brooklyn Eagle, The Billfold, Brooklyn
Reporter and Greenpoint Gazette.

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