According to the U.S. Department of Education, Mississippi is among the 20 states with the highest percentages of chronically absent student population. These numbers are quite high nationally, but Mississippi ranks 19th among the 50 states and Washington D.C., with 17.2 percent of chronically absent students. This is slightly higher than the national average of 16.4. This data was collected during the 2015-16 schoolyear. 2017-18 data from Mississippi’s education department showed that the state average had remained at 17.1%. This data provides insight into other absentee trends such as white students missing school more often than black students. To be considered chronically absent, a student must miss 10% of the academic year – a period of ten days, according to Toni Kersh of the Mississippi Department of Education’s Bureau Director of Compulsory School attendance Enforcement. Kersh stated that the nation has been too focused on the truant students, those who have been excused, and they forgot about the other children missing the same amount. “So we’re now looking at it holistically.” Kersh added. Chronic absenteism encompasses all reasons that a student might be absent from school, including excused absences and unexcused absences. The state’s highest rate of chronic absenteism is in Monroe County School District, which has a 34 percent rate, while Leflore County School district has a 6 percent. Kersh stated that there is no one cause of chronic absenteism. Teachers must look at the root causes to determine why students are not attending school. Kersh stated that “It’s going have to be an integrated approach. You want your teachers, counselors, curriculum specialists, and interventionists, depending on the school.” “You want all those people to come in, but you also want to take a look at each child individually.” Chronic absenteism can have a profound impact on a student’s education and could lead to a reduction in funding for school districts. The Mississippi Adequate Education Plan, or MAEP is the formula used by the state to determine funding for public schools districts. The average daily attendance is a large part of the formula. This captures attendance for any day during the first months of the school school year. Students must be present for at least 63 percent of school days to be considered present. Critics claim that this method is insufficient to fund schools, as it does not take into account the school’s average daily enrollment. “I tell people that we must stop focusing on the financial outcomes and all that, and instead focus on the child. What is the real impact on this child’s life? Kersh stated that we need to just get better at focusing on the children. Kersh also pointed out that most districts shouldn’t be affected by this snapshot since it is taken at the start of each year. She said that unless there are a lot of children who are absent for a long time, it shouldn’t have any impact on them. Kayleigh Skinner contributed to the report
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