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Few SD schools increase attendance levels

San Diego Unified school district officials say their back-to-school effort didn't increase students attendance levels as anticipated. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

San Diego Unified school district officials say their back-to-school effort didn't increase students attendance levels as anticipated. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

The back-to-school campaign was launched before summer to remind San Diego students to report on the first day of class. The message was heavily stressed at 30 schools historically plagued by low attendance levels. District spokesman Dick Van Der Lann says only two of those schools - Balboa and Florence Elementary -reported a large attendance spike.

Van Der Lann: "We have some success on our hands, and I think during the next four weeks we'll have even more success. The ones that had the most visible campaigns those are the ones that exceeded our expectations."

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Van Der Laan says more students are expected to show up in the coming weeks. He says more than 120,000 students are enrolled in the district this year, but 8,000 of those students didn't attend class. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.