JACKSON—Lt. Governor Hosemann recognized 175 schools and 12 school districts across Mississippi for a chronic absenteeism of 15 percent or less during the 2023-2024 school year. Each of these schools received a “Lt. Governor’s Attendance Award” and letter honoring their achievement.

Vicksburg Warren School District schools recognized include Beechwood Elementary School and Bowmar Avenue Elementary School.

Hosemann has identified tackling chronic absenteeism in Mississippi schools as a priority for the 2025 Legislative Session. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 18 days (10 percent) of the school year for any reason including excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspensions.

Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate for the 2023-2024 school year was 24.4 percent. While the rate is lower than some other states, it is still more than 10 percentage points above the state’s 13 percent rate during the 2018-2019 school year.

“The goal should be for every school in Mississippi to reach its pre-pandemic rate, and then keep trending downward. When children are in the classroom, they are safe and they are learning,” Hosemann said. “This award is meant to celebrate schools concentrating on bringing their attendance rates up and encourage others to set the same goal.”

Hosemann has cited several possible solutions to address chronic absenteeism in the 2025 Session including:

• Restricting the use of cellphones in public schools, which has been shown in recent years to severely impact student mental health, particularly during classroom instruction. Some other states and school districts in Mississippi have already implemented policies banning or restricting the use of cellphones in schools;
• Moving school attendance officers from the Mississippi Department of Education to district-level supervision to encourage better personal relationships between the district, parents, students, the wider community, courts, and law enforcement;
• Increasing school attendance officer salaries. School attendance officers start at $24,528.29 in Mississippi; and
• Encouraging low-performing schools, which often have high chronic absenteeism rates, to consider moving to a modified calendar. A modified calendar more evenly disperses school days throughout the year, provides more short breaks during the school year, and shortens the summer, when students often experience learning loss.

School Districts recognized were:

Booneville School District

East Jasper Consolidated School District

Enterprise School District

Jefferson County School District

New Albany Public Schools

Newton Municipal School District

North Tippah School District

Okolona Separate School District

Prentiss County School District

Rankin County School District

Smith County School District

Water Valley School District

 

Individual schools recognized were as follows:

ALCORN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Alcorn Central Elementary School

Alcorn Central Middle School

Kossuth Middle School

BALDWYN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Baldwyn Elementary School

BILOXI PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Biloxi Junior High School

North Bay Elementary School

BOONEVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Anderson Elementary School

R. H. Long Booneville Middle School

CALHOUN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Bruce Elementary School

Calhoun City Elementary School

Vardaman Attendance Center

CHICKASAW COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Houston Lower Elementary School

Houston Upper Elementary School

CHOCTAW COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Ackerman Elementary School

French Camp Elementary School

CLEVLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT

Bell Elementary School

D. M. Smith Elementary School

Hayes Cooper Center for Math, Science and Technology

Pearman Elementary School

CLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Clinton Park Elementary School

Eastside Elementary School

Lovett Elementary School

Northside Elementary School

COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Columbia Elementary School

Columbia Primary School

COLUMBUS MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Fairview Elementary School

Sale Elementary School

DESOTO COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Center Hill Elementary School

Desoto Central Elementary School

Hernando Hills Elementary School

Lewisburg Elementary School

Lewisburg Intermediate School

EAST JASPER CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Heidelberg High School

Heidelberg Junior High School

William J. Berry Elementary School

ENTERPRISE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Enterprise Elementary School

Enterprise Middle School

GREENE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Leakesville Elementary School

GREENWOOD-LEFLORE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Amanda Elzy High School

Amanda Elzy Junior High School

Leflore County Elementary School

GULFPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Bayou View Elementary School

HARRISON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Creekbend Elementary and Middle School

D’Iberville Middle School

Harrison County Child Development Center

Lyman Elementary School

North Woolmarket Elementary and Middle Schools

HATTIESBURG PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Thames Elementary School

HINDS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Byram Middle School

Gary Road Intermediate School

HOLMES CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRCT

S. V. Marshall Middle School

Williams-Sullivan Middle School

ITAWAMBA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Dorsey Attendance Center

JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

St. Martin East Elementary School

Vancleave Upper Elementary School

JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Bailey Middle APAC School

Barack H. Obama Elementary School

Casey Elementary School

Chastain Middle School

Ida B. Wells APAC School

Lake Elementary School

McLeod Elementary School

McWillie Elementary School

Northwest Middle School

Walton Elementary School

JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Jefferson County Elementary School

Jefferson County High School

JONES COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

East Jones Elementary School

LAFAYETTE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Lafayette Middle School

LAMAR COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Baxterville School

Longleaf Elementary School

Oak Grove Elementary

Purvis Upper Elementary

LAUREL SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Laurel Magnet School of the Arts

LAWRENCE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

New Hebron Attendance Center

LEAKE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Leake Central Elementary School

LEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Guntown Middle School

Shannon Elementary School

LELAND SCHOOL DISTRICT

Leland School Park Middle School

LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

West Lincoln Attendance Center

LOWNDES COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Caledonia Elementary School

New Hope Elementary School

West Lowndes Elementary School

MADISON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Camden Elementary School

Germantown Middle School

Highland Elementary School

Luther Branson School

Madison Avenue Lower Elementary

Madison Avenue Upper Elementary

Madison Crossing Elementary

Madison Middle School

Madison Station Elementary School

Mannsdale Elementary

Mannsdale Upper Elementary

MERIDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Poplar Springs Elementary School

NATCHEZ-ADAMS SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Natchez Early College at Co-Lin

Natchez Middle School

NETTLETON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Nettleton Primary School

NEW ALBANY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

New Albany Elementary School

New Albany High School

New Albany Middle School

NEWTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Newton County Elementary School

NEWTON MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRCIT

N. H. Pilate Middle School

Newton Elementary School

NORTH BOLIVAR CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Casper E. Hall Elementary School

NORTH TIPPAH SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Chalybeate Elementary School

Walnut Attendance Center

OCEAN SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Magnolia Park Elementary School

Oak Park Elementary School

Pecan Park Elementary School

OKOLONA SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Okolona Elementary School

Okolona High School

Okolona Middle School

OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Oxford Middle School

PASCAGOULA GAUTIER SCHOOL DISTRICT

Beach Elementary School

Martin Bluff Elementary School

PASS CHRISTIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Delisle Elementary School

Pass Christian Elementary

Pass Christian Middle School

PEARL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Northside Elementary School

Pearl Upper Elementary School

PETAL SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Petal Elementary School

Petal Primary School

PRENTISS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Hills Chapel School

Marietta Elementary School

Wheeler High School

RANKIN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Brandon Elementary School

Brandon High School

Brandon Middle School

Florence Elementary School

Florence High School

Florence Middle School

Flowood Elementary School

Highland Bluff Elementary

Northshore Elementary School

Northwest Elementary School

Northwest Rankin High School

Northwest Rankin Middle School

Oakdale Elementary School

Pisgah Elementary School

Pisgah High School

Puckett Elementary School

Rouse Elementary School

Steen’s Creek Elementary School

Stonebridge Elementary School

RICHTON SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Richton Elementary School

SCOTT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCT

Lake Elementary School

SMITH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Raleigh Elementary School

Taylorsville Attendance Center

SOUTH PIKE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Eva Gordon Upper Elementary School

Osyka Elementary School

SOUTH TIPPAH SCHOOL DISTRICT

Ripley Elementary School

Ripley Middle School

SR1 COLLEGE PREP & STEM ACADEMY

SR1 College Preparatory & Stem Academy

STARKVILLE-OKTIBBEHA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Henderson Ward-Stewart Elementary

Overstreet Elementary School

SUNFLOWER COUNTY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Carver Elementary School

Drew Hunter Middle School

Lockard Elementary School

Moorhead Central School

Rosser Early Learning Center

TUNICA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Dundee Elementary School

TUPELO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Rankin Elementary School

UNION PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Union Middle School

VICSKBURG WARREN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Beechwood Elementary School

Bowmar Avenue

WALTHALL COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

Tylertown Elementary School

Tylertown Primary School

WATER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Davidson Elementary School

WAYNE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Buckatunna Elementary School

Clara Elementary School

Wayne Central Elementary School

Waynesboro Riverview Elementary School

WESTERN LINE SCHOOL DISTRCIT

O’Bannon Elementary School

WILKINSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRCIT

William Winans Middle School