Massac County Unit #1 School Superintendent Jason Hayes tells WMOK that enrollment numbers in Massac County Unit 1 Schools are improving following a dip in student enrollment that seemed to be exacerbated by Covid 19.
Hayes told WMOK in January that for the first time in 4 years student attendance is rebounding. Hayes said all of the schools show an increase in attendance except for the Massac Junior High and that had been due to a difference in class numbers as one class graduated and another came in. The only school that has not fully rebounded is Unity.
Another problematic situation that Hayes said is in improving is Chronic Absenteeism.
We also discussed Mental Health days with Mr. Hayes.
Hear our discussion from January below:
February Update:
When Mr. Hayes joined us for Coffee Break in February he said that the numbers have continued to improve. He said most schools in the district are hovering around 20% which is a little higher than he would like – however that is still lower than the state average. Franklin Elementary currently shows the lowest number of chronic absenteeism in Massac Unit #1 with 6.67%.
Hayes says that students who miss more than 10% of school days put themselves in the position to fall behind in their studies. In addition there is a research to show that students who are chronically absent will not do as well later on in their school years.
Hear our February conversation regarding Chronic Absenteeism with Mr. Hayes below:
Chronic Absenteeism has been on the rise nationwide
More on Why Chronic Absenteeism Matters: What the Research Says and more from the US Department of Education
The American Federation of Teachers state “Attendance Matters”: Being present in school every day matters. In addition to chronic absenteeism predicting low academic success, it also predicts which students may eventually drop out of school. Being chronically absent from school makes it hard for a student to keep up with the pace at which they are expected to learn and grow, causing that student to fall behind. Students who are chronically absent also miss out on opportunities to build friendships at school, become active in their school community and pursue future career interests.
Attendance Works, a non-profit initiative works to improve chronic absenteeism numbers nationwide.
“Our country is facing an attendance crisis. Prior to the pandemic, eight million students were chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year). That number has more than doubled. The adverse social, emotional and academic impact of missing too much school is highest among students and families most affected by educational inequities. Left unaddressed, chronic absence will dramatically increase the number of students struggling with reading, writing and math and escalate dropout rates. Existing attendance and truancy practices are woefully inadequate given today’s unprecedented levels of chronic absenteeism.”
More from Attendance Works – The 3-tiers of Intervention for Chronic Absenteeism
Chalkbeat reports: “Because it’s super simplified, it’s hiding a lot of nuances,” said Jing Liu, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Education. “We need to differentiate the reason behind absences to know how to help an individual kid.”
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