MDE encourages schools and communities to recognize Attendance Awareness Month in September

The Mississippi Department of Education urges all education stakeholders to recognize Attendance Awareness Month in September. Schools, districts and local organizations are encouraged to promote the benefits of students maintaining regular attendance at school and reducing chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% (18 days) of the school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. Students who miss two days of school each month of a school year are considered chronically absent. Research shows that students who are absent 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.

Anyone interested in raising awareness about the importance of regular school attendance may utilize MDE's online Attendance Awareness Toolkit, which includes resources from the agency's Every School Day Counts – Attend to Achieve campaign.

"We all have a role in combatting chronic absenteeism in schools and preventing students from dropping out," said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. "MDE offers professional training and resources to districts, but we ask that local communities and service organizations join in as well. Regular attendance is essential for a student's success in school."

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is supporting MDE's attendance awareness efforts. His office has created resource materials available to the public that have been added to MDE's Attendance Awareness Toolkit.

"Students' attendance is a key indicator for success not only in the classroom but in life," Hosemann said. "It is imperative for the long-term success of our children and our state that our communities focus on keeping our students in the classroom."

MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016. The lowest rate of 13% was in 2018-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is believed to be the major factor that led to higher state and national rates in 2021-22 when Mississippi's was 28%. The state's 2023-24 rate was 24.4%. MDE will soon release the 2024-25 Chronic Absenteeism Report.

MDE's Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement and Dropout Prevention is tasked with ensuring all Mississippi public school students attend school. School attendance officers work out of this office to connect with families and help them eliminate barriers to school attendance. The office collaborated with the North Mississippi Education Consortium earlier this year to offer Attendance Improvement Institutes for school districts from Feb. 24 – May 16 across the state. The professional development event helped school teams create research-based and effective attendance improvement strategies to increase attendance rates.

MDE will host the Statewide Chronic Absenteeism and Dropout Prevention Conference Sept. 8–9, at the Hilton Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. The conference will offer expert-led presentations and breakout sessions focused on innovative strategies to boost student engagement and reduce dropout rates. Additionally, it will provide a platform for sharing best practices and deepening understanding of how to effectively address chronic absenteeism.

Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.