The Mississippi Department of Education released a report on absenteeism in the state’s public school districts and the results are both good and bad for Vicksburg schools.

The report, which centers on information for the 2016-17 school year, shows 14.2 percent of Mississippi public school students were absent 10 percent or more of the time enrolled during the school year.

For the Vicksburg Warren School District, 21.28 percent — or 1,842 of the district’s 8,657 — were absent 10 percent or more of the school year.

The three districts with the highest chronic absenteeism rates in the state are Forrest County Agricultural High School (26.4 percent), Natchez-Adams (25.6 percent) and Lumberton (24.8 percent).

Vicksburg Warren School District’s Vicksburg High School recorded the highest rate of absenteeism among the state’s high schools at 62.2 percent, along with Jackson Public Schools’ Wingfield High School at 47.5 percent and Lanier High School at 45.3 percent.

At the same time, VWSD’s River City Early College High School recorded the lowest absenteeism in the state among high schools at 3.9 percent, along with Golden Triangle Early College High School at 4.1 percent in the Lowndes County School District and Simmons High School at 6.5 percent in the Hollandale School District.

Chad Shealy, superintendent of the Vicksburg Warren School District, said he has been working with Mississippi legislators to change the compulsory school age from 16 to 17 years of age, but that bill died in committee this session.

“If they are not going to help us by creating a law that requires students to be here, then they shouldn’t hold us accountable for their attendance,” Shealy said.

Results for the chronic absenteeism rate for 2017-18 will be better, he said.

“We’ve had a drastic drop in chronic absenteeism at Vicksburg High School and an overall decrease at both (high) schools,” Shealy said.

Calculated to date and extrapolated to estimate the end of the year, VWSD officials expect the chronic absentee rate at Vicksburg High School to drop to 27.6 percent and Warren Central High School to drop to 25 percent.

Further, Shealy said the school district last summer hired Angela Johnson, the superintendent of the Hollandale School District for the last three years, to serve as principal at Vicksburg High School.

Other points about chronic absenteeism Shealy and other school district officials wrote in a press release Monday afternoon:

• The school district is working to build relevancy into the schools by transforming high school to the academy model. VWCCA engages students in subject areas that they are excited about, which leads to higher attendance and performance.

• Two school attendance officers, employed by the state of Mississippi, are assigned to the Vicksburg Warren School District. Students are reported to the officers after five unexcused absences are reported. Parents can be charged with a misdemeanor and fined for their child’s truancy.

• School district officials encourage parents to schedule appointments and vacations during times when school is not in session. A student must be in school 63 percent of the day to be considered present.

• High school officials proactively encourage attendance, on-time arrival and participation through PBIS incentives.

• Teachers are both high schools proactively reach out to parents if a student has excessive absences.

The report shows Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism follows a national trend of high absenteeism among kindergarten students (13.6 percent statewide), better attendance during early elementary school years, then increasing absenteeism among middle school and high school students. The statewide absentee rate peaks at 30.1 percent.

Shealy also said national trends show a correlation between school attendance and poverty.

“We have tried to create some innovation, like the career academies, with the specific endgame of increasing graduation rates, which we’ve done by 16 to 17 percent,” he said.

Readers may view the 2016-17 Mississippi chronic absenteeism report at the “Reports” link on MDE’s Public Reports page: mdereports.mdek12.org.