LAUSD Superintendent, Faculty Encourage School Attendance with Home Visits

The week before starting fifth grade at Pacoima Middle School, Aiden Vazquez had a unique experience – he met several faculty members from his new school and shook hands with Andrés E. Chait, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). They were all in Pacoima, right outside his front door. The soft-spoken 11-year-old stood alongside his mother, Mary Rodriguez, as reporters took photos, shot video and asked him questions about his interests and hobbies (he plays the violin) and his favorite sport (basketball). The home visit was part of LAUSD’s iAttend initiative, which seeks to reduce chronic…