Andres Alonso talks with reporters
In a wide-ranging conversation this morning with reporters, Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso said he believes some of the increase in test scores may have had to do with the fact that more students are coming to school regularly.
When he came to the district two years ago, he said, the schools had poor attendance. Each year about 8,000 students had been out truant or had missed at least 20 days a year. That number dropped last year when 1,600 fewer students were truant. "If kids are in school more they are going to do better," he said.
He said the system has 1,000 fewer dropouts than it did two years ago, another indication that it is able to keep students in school.
In other subjects, Alonso predicted that there will be another increase in enrollment this year. Last year, the system had 83,000 students, the first time in decades that the system gained rather than lost students.
Parochial schools are losing enrollment, he said. "We have one competitive advantage: we are free." If parents are convinced that their children can get a good education in a public school, he said, they will send their children to city schools.
One other tidbit: He said about 40 percent of the principals in the system are new to their jobs since he took over. He said he has replaced some of them and others have retired or resigned.
Baltimoresun.com's 
