MDE: Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement & Dropout Prevention – Chronic Absenteeism Report
Released September 2023
INTRODUCTION
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more (18 days) of a
school year for any reason.
Chronic absenteeism differs from Average Daily Attendance (ADA), which is the average number
of enrolled students who attend school each day. A school’s ADA often masks issues surrounding
the number of students who are chronically absent. A school can potentially have an ADA of 95%
or higher while having a chronic absenteeism rate greater than 10%.
During the 2022-23 school year, 108,310 of Mississippi public school students were chronically
a
bsent compared to 128,275 students in 2021-22. Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate for
2022-23 is 23.87%, which has decreased since last year. The Mississippi Department of
Education (MDE) started reporting the rates in 2016. The attendance campaign was first
launched in September 2018 to challenge students and school districts to strive to reduce
individual absences to no more than five a
bsences over the course of the entire school year. A
statewide attendance awareness campaign was relaunched in June 2023 to encourage regular
school attendance. Mississippi’s campaign is part of a national movement to reduce chronic
absenteeism.
Here are a few actions that districts and schools can take to address chronic absenteeism:
• Engage Students and Parents
• Recognize Good and Improved Attendance
•
Develop Programmatic Response to Barriers
•
Provide Personalized Early Outreach
•
Monitor Attendance Data and Practice
• Review statewide policies for virtual learning to be sure district policies align with state
requirements.
• Work with your school and districts data clerks to ensure accurate attendance data are
entered.
• Encourage teachers and staff to make personal contact with families when students are
absent. We know the power of personal relationships and how they foster a sense of
belonging.
• Work with School Attendance Officers to identify and engage students who are at risk of
becoming chronically absent.
• Review your health and safety protocols for minimizing the spread of infectious illnesses.
• Take advantage of resources to promote regular student attendance:
• Home - Attendance Awareness Campaign 2023 (attendanceworks.org)
• Handouts for Families - Attendance Works
• 10 Facts About School Attendance - Attendance Works