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Mississippi Department of Education promotes Attendance Awareness Month amid rising absenteeism

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Education Daily Wire Aug 25, 2025

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Lance Evans, Mississippi Superintendent of Education | Mississippi Department of Education

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is urging schools and communities to recognize Attendance Awareness Month in September. The initiative aims to highlight the importance of students maintaining regular attendance and to address chronic absenteeism across the state.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year for any reason, including excused or unexcused absences and suspensions. According to research cited by MDE, students who are absent two to four days in September often end up missing nearly a month of school over the academic year.

To support awareness efforts, MDE has made available an online Attendance Awareness Toolkit. This resource features materials from the agency’s Every School Day Counts – Attend to Achieve campaign and is intended for use by anyone interested in promoting regular school attendance.

“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 Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann has joined MDE’s efforts by creating additional resource materials for public use, which have been added to the 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.”

Since 2016, MDE has reported data on chronic absence rates. The lowest rate recorded was 13 percent during the 2018-19 school year. Rates increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 28 percent statewide in 2021-22. For 2023-24, Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate was reported at 24.4 percent. MDE plans to release its latest Chronic Absenteeism Report soon.

The Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement and Dropout Prevention within MDE oversees efforts to ensure all public school students attend classes regularly. Attendance officers from this office work directly with families to address barriers preventing consistent attendance. Earlier this year, this office collaborated with the North Mississippi Education Consortium to provide Attendance Improvement Institutes between February 24 and May 16 across Mississippi. These professional development sessions assisted school teams in developing strategies aimed at increasing student attendance.

Looking ahead, MDE will host its Statewide Chronic Absenteeism and Dropout Prevention Conference on September 8–9 at the Hilton Jackson hotel in Jackson. The event will feature expert-led presentations and breakout sessions focused on innovative ways to engage students and reduce dropout rates while providing opportunities for sharing best practices among participants.

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