Sonjhia Lowery Takes Over Pittsburg Unified After Chronic Absence Falls 9 Points

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Sonjhia Lowery began leading Pittsburg Unified^↗ in July with an encouraging attendance trend already in motion and a test for every decision ahead: Will it improve students' experience and outcomes?

Pittsburg's chronic absence rate fell from 40.9 percent in 2021-22 to 31.9 percent in 2024-25, a 9.0-percentage-point improvement. The number of chronically absent students fell by 1,062 during that span, while the number of students eligible to be measured fell by only 170.

Those figures are direct evidence of improvement, not of its cause. Lowery arrived after the period covered by the attendance data. The files cannot identify which programs, school practices, family decisions or demographic changes moved the rate.

"My first priorities are to listen, learn, and build strong relationships while creating greater alignment across the district," Lowery said in written responses to The CAEdTribune.

The California Department of Education's district directory lists Lowery as Pittsburg Unified's superintendent. She succeeded Janet Schulze, whose retirement led to the search that ended with Lowery's appointment, according to The CC Pulse.

Lowery's career has included leadership of Old Adobe Union School District, educational services work in Stockton Unified and learning-support work in Elk Grove Unified, where she established an Office of Educational Equity, according to the district's appointment announcement.

An attendance gain that predates the transition

California's published records show Pittsburg's chronic absence rate declining in each year from 2021-22 through 2024-25. The rate moved from 40.9 percent to 37.9 percent, then 32.7 percent and 31.9 percent.

The count offers an important cross-check. Pittsburg recorded 4,588 chronically absent students in 2021-22 and 3,526 in 2024-25. Eligible enrollment declined from 11,211 to 11,041 over the same period. That relatively small denominator change is a competing explanation that the data can test, and it is too small to account for a decrease of 1,062 chronically absent students.

Lowery described attendance and enrollment as connected to the experience families have with schools rather than as isolated measures.

"Rather than viewing attendance and enrollment as isolated metrics, I see them as outcomes of the overall student and family experience," she wrote.

For her incoming administration, that means attention to safe and welcoming schools, instruction, partnerships and whether students feel seen, valued and supported. Those are direct statements of her planned approach. They should not be read as an explanation for a decline in chronic absence that occurred before she started.

Enrollment has steadied near its long-term starting point

Pittsburg enrolled 10,716 students in 2025-26. That was 253 fewer students than the district enrolled in 2014-15, a decrease of 2.3 percent. The current total is also 821 below the district's 2017-18 peak of 11,537 students.

The recent direction is steadier than the peak comparison suggests. Enrollment reached a low of 10,665 in 2022-23 and rose by 50 students in the latest year, to 10,716. A one-year increase does not establish a rebound, but it gives Lowery a near-term baseline for watching whether family confidence and enrollment move together as she expects.

Lowery said she wants early listening to reach schools and departments and to protect high-quality instruction, literacy, student supports, relationships and partnerships. Pittsburg Unified's standing board goals also emphasize literacy, learning supports, partnerships, fiscal stability and family engagement. That overlap is suggestive context for agenda-setting, not proof that any particular strategy produced the attendance or enrollment patterns.

Support systems have to reach broad, overlapping groups

The scale of those commitments is visible in the district's current enrollment records. In 2025-26, Pittsburg reported 8,085 students classified as economically disadvantaged, 2,449 English learners, 1,497 students receiving special education services and 410 students identified as homeless. The categories overlap, so the counts should not be added together.

These counts do not say whether services are sufficient or how well they work. They establish the number of students whose education may depend on the instruction, support and partnerships Lowery says she intends to protect.

That protection also shapes her approach to the district's budget.

"Every budget decision should be guided by one question: How does this improve the experience and outcomes of our scholars?" Lowery wrote.

The attendance trend gives her administration something concrete to preserve, but not a ready-made explanation to claim. The work ahead is to connect listening, instruction and support to measures the district can keep watching, while being clear about which changes happened before the transition and which happen under Lowery's leadership.

Enrollment and chronic absence figures come from the California Department of Education's annual enrollment files and chronic absenteeism files. Lowery's quotes come from written responses provided to The CAEdTribune.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.

Pittsburg Unified - EdTribune CA - California Education Data

Sonjhia Lowery Takes Over Pittsburg Unified After Chronic Absence Falls 9 Points

An attendance gain that predates the transition

Enrollment has steadied near its long-term starting point

Support systems have to reach broad, overlapping groups