Students across Sonoma County took the day off from school in protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Their absence is a part of the national “Day Without Immigrants” protests, which also led to the closure of numerous businesses in the county.
At Roseland Public Schools, a district of six schools, nearly a thousand students out of 2,700 stayed home for the day, said Superintendent Amy Jones-Kerr. Normally, only 5 percent of students miss school in the district on any given day.
“We have a great relationship with our parents and we want to be supportive of families and of what’s going on,” Jones-Kerr said. “But we have a duty to tell them that education is key and it’s necessary for their kids to be in school.”
After parents and students informed teachers and principals in the district about the planned absences, Jones-Kerr had an automatic phone call sent to all parents in the district to deliver her message.
Roseland Public Schools isn’t the only district affected. The Sonoma County Office of Education, Santa Rosa City Schools and Sonoma Valley Unified School District all reported significant school absences.
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The SCOE is collecting data from the five largest schools districts in the county to get a better picture of the impact, said spokeswoman Jamie Hansen. The protest will cost schools money as some funding is dependent on attendance, she said.
You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.
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