Mid-Missouri school districts still battling low attendance rates four years after pandemic
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Parents of Columbia Public Schools students might have received messages throughout the year, asking for their help in reaching an attendance goal.
CPS parents have received multiple messages from the district saying "HELP! Late check ins/absences have us below state requirement of 80%. Please be sure your student is at school so they can learn."
The pandemic significantly affected attendance rates across the state, with CPS dropping from 84.7% in 2019 to 73.6% in 2023 according to data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
That same data showed the state of Missouri as a whole saw 76.7% attendance in 2023, down from 87.3% in 2019.
CPS Spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said Wednesday that CPS' current attendance rate is right at 80%.
She said the district is battling an increase in overall absenteeism since the pandemic, with more students missing more often.
This is different than chronic absenteeism, when a student misses 10% or more school days a year.
From 2019 to 2023, the number of students experiencing chronic absenteeism in Missouri increased by 10%, according to a report from the Prime Center at St. Louis University.
Proportional attendance rates are the percentage of students in school 90% of the time. Columbia Public Schools and Jefferson City Schools both experienced a drop in students proportional attendance rates over that five-year span.
Mid-Missouri school districts are not alone in experiencing this trend, they're actually in the majority. Only 6% of local education agencies had their proportional attendance rate remain steady from 2019 to 2023, according to the Prime Center report.
Todd Fuller with the Missouri State Teachers Association said reasons attendance has been lower since the pandemic include an increased awareness for sickness and mental health, an increase in online learning opportunities and an overall change in mindset.
"A lot of parents, I think, believe that, 'Well, teachers are posting assignments online, so we'll just catch them there and we'll make sure that our students are staying up to date if they decide to take a week off with us,'" Fuller said. "But, in-person learning is still vital and it's still important."
Baumstark said every day a student misses results in three days of lost instruction.
"For each day missed, it actually equates to three days of lost instruction--the day you missed, the day to make up the work and the lesson after the day you missed that isn't effective because you missed the necessary content the day before," Baumstark said.
She said CPS has tried to reemphasize the importance of prioritizing attendance by issuing phone calls and letters home and working with families who might be struggling.
Fuller noted there are some students who face socioeconomic issues which affect their ability to get to schools. However, at the end of the day, he said it's the parents' responsibility to send their children to school.
"The districts can send letters out, they can try to call, they can use robo-calls to try to remind parents that, 'Hey, your student has missed this many days.' But what it comes down to is parents need to get their kids back in the classroom," Fuller said.
He said attendance can impact a district's funding, since funding from the state is per-pupil.
Attendance is also a factor in a district's Annual Performance Report score, which determines accreditation. In 2023, CPS received just over 70% of points and earned zero points for attendance. Districts that fall between 50%-70% overall are considered provisionally accredited.
Jefferson City had a 76.7% APR score in 2023, also earning zero points in attendance. DESE shows the district had a 73.8% attendance rate in 2023.
A Jefferson City School District spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Missouri law states that parents are responsible for making sure their children attend school between the ages of 7 and 17. Students may lose credit for a school year if they are chronically absent, forcing them to repeat the year. Last summer, the Missouri Supreme Court handed down a decision that parents can be jailed if their student misses too many days of school.
