Reply #1: DPS is claiming that it's an improvement.

[GigiMommy]

Source: The Detroit News Last Updated: September 07. 2011 10:12PM


DPS attendance 55% on 1st day
Jennifer Chambers/ The Detroit News

Detroit — More than 43,000 students attended the first day of school Tuesday at Detroit Public Schools — about 55 percent of the nearly 80,000 who are eligible to go to the state's largest district.

Emergency Manager Roy Roberts announced first-day attendance figures for the district Wednesday afternoon, saying the 43,660 students who showed up for school were an improvement over last year's first day.

Last year, Roberts said the district counted 23,458 students the first day. That figure was eventually revised to 40,697, which DPS said amounted to an attendance rate of 51 percent.

While 79,611 are eligible to attend DPS, officials estimate the student population will reach 65,000 this year, a drop from last year's enrollment of 73,000.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110907/SCHOOLS/109070412/DPS-attendance-55--on-1st-day#ixzz1XUIOVLqU