Following recent national reports of an increase in reported absenteeism among public schools in the US, local area schools say they are seeing mixed results.
Jefferson High School Principal Mike Moodry says the school is gradually returning to normal numbers following the pandemic. Figures provided by Moodry shows an absentee rate of about 4.65% during the 2018-19 school year, and about 4.4% during 2019-2020. The absentee rate accelerated to 8.9% and 7.9% during the pandemic years between 2020 and 2022. The current absentee rate for this year is about 5.9%. “We are not experiencing the dramatic shifts as other schools,” Moodry told The Monitor.
Cami Robson, Administrator at Clancy Elementary School, said that the school is experiencing a rise in absenteeism this year, but they have not reached any conclusions about the causes. Montana City Schools did not reply to the request for information.
Local schools are also seeing a fluctuation in student enrollment totals. According to statistics provided by the Office of Public Instruction dashboard, Clancy and Boulder Elementary Schools have seen a significant rise in enrollments during the past 5 years. Montana City School, however, has shown a decline in enrollments during the same period. Cardwell School in the southern part of Jefferson County has stayed at about the same level of students for the past 5 years.
