RESNO, Calif. — Central Unified was looking to highlight the importance of school attendance when Superintendent Marilou Ryder sat in for an absent student on Wednesday — and invited the news media to follow along.

She participated in all of eighth-grader Makel Martinez’s classes at Rio Vista Middle School in northwest Fresno, Calif., and later called the girl’s father to tell him what she had missed.

But at least one parent thought the district went too far to make a point, and embarrassed the absent student along the way.

“I understand what (Ryder’s) trying to do, but to single someone out, that’s humiliating,” said Judi Saldivar, parent of a Central Unified School District elementary student. “She’s 13. Now is she going to want to go to school?”

Others praised Ryder and the district for tackling truancy.

“I thought this was a very novel and unique way to do it,” said Janet Ryan, a Fresno Unified trustee. “I’m sure it was embarrassing. But we need to call this problem out.”

With state money allocated to schools based on attendance, districts lose millions of dollars when students don’t show up. Absences cost Central Unified $3 million last year, $21 million for Fresno Unified School District and $8.4 for Clovis Unified School District.

In addition, students in Central Unified lost 524,271 hours of instruction at a time when schools are under intense state and federal pressure to improve student achievement.

Central Unified is in the midst of a two-year campaign to boost attendance, offering prizes to students who come every day and promoting the issue with public events. Last November, district staffers showed up unannounced at the homes of 40 absent students.

“Anything that we can do to get those kids in school has got to be a positive thing,” said Duane Peverill, president of the Central Unified Teachers Association.

On Wednesday, Ryder spent the day attending all of Makel’s classes at Rio Vista, taking notes and answering questions when called on by teachers, who addressed her as “Makel.”

Halfway through the day, she called Makel’s father. He had agreed Wednesday morning to participate.

Still, on Thursday Makel’s mother, Jackie Martinez, said she was shocked that her daughter was featured by the district and worried that Makel would be embarrassed.

She met with Principal Tim Swain, who told her that Makel was “the perfect role model” because she had improved her attendance during the second semester. She has missed seven days this year.

Martinez said the district should have selected a student who had missed far more days than her daughter.

“I know that there’s parents that really don’t care if their kids go to school, but we’re not one of those,” Martinez said.

She said her daughter loves school, and not only had a doctor’s appointment Wednesday, but woke up with severe allergy symptoms.

Thursday, Ryder and Makel, 13, met for the first time. Ryder handed off the notes she took for her, homework assignments and a gift: lip gloss and candy.

Makel said her friends thought it was “all cool and everything” that Ryder had sat in for her.

Ryder said the district office and Rio Vista each received a critical phone call, perhaps from the same person. She said reaction otherwise was overwhelmingly positive.

Jan Edwards, a public relations expert who is a lecturer in the mass communication and journalism department at California State University, Fresno, said it appears the district accomplished what it set out to do: “It certainly hit the mark of drawing attention to the issue.”