Nonprofit Mississippi News Mississippi’s public school enrollment is down more than 23,000 students this year than last. A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Education didn’t answer questions about where the students went. In Mississippi, public school enrollment has been steadily declining in recent years. However, the most recent school year (2020-2021), shows that 23,286 students are enrolled in the state’s public schools this year as compared to 2019, 2020 — a 5% drop from the previous school year. The Mississippi Department of Education is investigating the matter, said Carey Wright, State Superintendent. Wright stated that the department is gathering data on the number of students who went to private schools or home-schooling. She said she plans to meet with department attendance officials later in the week. Wright stated that districts are being directed to send school attendance officers to every child who attended school last year, but not this year, to determine where they are. Wright stated, “My goal for them is to be in a learning environment. Parents can choose to homeschool or go private school. It’s not possible to choose not to do anything. The state law requires that all children aged 6-17 years must be enrolled by their parents or legal guardians in public schools or “a state approved nonpublic (private) school” or educate the child at home in an organized education program. Kindergarten students 5 years old are also subject to the laws. A spokesperson for Mississippi Today directed Mississippi Today to where to find year-to-year comparisons of enrollment data when asked by Mississippi Today if they knew where thousands of students went. The spokesperson for the MDE stated in an email that “we know the pandemic affected schools across the country, even in Mississippi.” “School Attendance Officers (SAOs) work with school districts to identify school-age children who have not been reenrolled in their local public schools or have not submitted a homeschool enrollment form to their local SAO. This school year is unique in that the coronavirus epidemic has forced districts to rethink how they teach. Some schools still offer in-person education, but many others are completely virtual or hybrid, making it difficult for schools to track where students are. Jefferson Davis County High School was among those schools that chose virtual learning. It has been difficult to reach and teach students because of internet and transportation problems, stated Taylor Copeland (high school social studies teacher and French teacher). Jefferson Davis teacher Taylor Copeland is a first-year teacher. She teaches history to 109 ninth-graders and French to 14 students. Only 25 students show up for the Google Meet classes. She said that while most of her students were issued packets, some students weren’t reached at all. Copeland stated in a Zoom interview that she has reached out to a number of students with phone calls, home visits and not doing any work. “I could teach all 109 students, but that’s not reality.” Public schools have 442,627 students this year. This number represents the average daily attendance, or the average number of students who attend school every day. Pre-K and kindergarten saw more than 10% changes, while pre-K and kindergarten experienced the largest drop in enrollment. According to Mississippi Today, the annual drop in student enrollment is correlated with a decrease in the state’s overall population. Kate Royals contributed to the report. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today.