Student absenteeism findings are lowest for FC as whole

The Mississippi Department of Education’s latest reports on campus and district-wide chronic absenteeism indicated the Franklin County School District had some of the lowest attendance-related concerns during the 2021-2022 academic year.

MDE findings noted 28 percent of Magnolia State students were not present for 18 days or more during the previous school term — due to excused or unexcused absences along with suspensions.

That translates to 10 percent or more of the academic year where students, who fit the definition of being chronically absent, were not in school.

During the 2021-2022 school year, a reported 128,275 Mississippi public school students were chronically absent, which is an increase of 33,186 students from the 2020-21 term.

MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016, and the 28 percent overall rate is the highest to date.

The state-wide rates increased steadily for all K-12 grades in the last school year.

Chronic absenteeism in K-5 elementary schools was highest for kindergarten at 28.4 percent.

The rate for middle schools was highest in eighth grade at 29.6 percent and the highest rate in high schools was 12th graders at 45.3 percent.

Before the pandemic, Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate fell to 13 percent in the 2018-19 school year.

Franklin County, on the other hand, bucked the most-recent state-wide trend with an overall chronic absenteeism rate of 9.65 percent — the lowest of any school district in Mississippi.

Of FCSD’s 1,254 enrolled students, 121 were characterized as chronically absent last school year.

Here is a breakdown based on the FCSD’s four campuses per the MDE report:

• Franklin County Lower Elementary — 398 enrolled students with 30 (7.54 percent) being chronically absent.

• Franklin County Upper Elementary — 265 enrolled students with 28 (10.57 percent) being chronically absent.

• Franklin County Middle School — 205 enrolled students with 19 (9.27 percent) being chronically absent.

• Franklin County High School — 386 enrolled students with 44 (11.4 percent) being chronically absent.

Franklin County Superintendent of Education Chris Kent said he believes the district has been successful in addressing chronic absenteeism because it creates an environment where students enjoy coming to school on a daily basis.

“While some might think these findings are not a big deal, I think it is a great accomplishment,” Kent added.

“The reality is we all know we can’t teach them if they are not at school.”

Across the state, Claiborne County had the highest district chronic absenteeism rate at 57.66 percent followed by Hazlehurst City at 54.26 percent.

MDE has announced plans to relaunch a state-wide attendance awareness campaign this summer, and will challenge students and school districts to reduce individual absences to no more than five in a school year.

Dr. Robert Taylor, who serves as Mississippi’s superintendent of education, said higher-than-normal chronic absenteeism numbers are not unique to Mississippi following the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that MDE and all educational stakeholders develop and implement strategies to get students back in school and on track to achieve academic and career success,” Taylor said.

Taylor pointed out chronic absenteeism is a different statistic from Average Daily Attendance, which calculates the average number of enrolled students who attend school each day.

To view the complete report regarding chronic absenteeism and other education-related data, visit MDE’s website at mdek12.org/OPR/Reporting/Reports.