Students aren’t showing up for virtual learning. ‘Are they well cared for? Are they safe?’

In virtual school, on any given day in New Jersey, one in four Camden public school students is absent. Nearly 1,700 students, or about 25% of the student enrollment in the state-run district, are not showing up for class, said Superintendent Katrina McCombs. Average daily attendance has fallen during the pandemic from about 92% last year to about 75%. McCombs and state educators who oversee Camden schools want to know why so many kids are missing school. The district has been fully remote since schools were shut down by the coronavirus last spring. “It is something we’re taking very seriously,” McCombs said.