Changing the Definition of School Absenteeism Cuts Absenteeism - SHOCK
Vicksburg Warren schools report attendance near 95% this year
The Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees heard at its Oct. 30 regular meeting that student attendance has held between 94 and 95 percent for the first two months of the school year.
A speaker identified in meeting records as the district superintendent, whose identity has not been confirmed, told the board, “It’s been 94, 95% the first 2 months. Right now we’re on track to have 94%, probably hadn’t been that way in a long time.” The remarks came during a report segment that followed discussion of the district’s accountability scores. The speaker credited the gain to a recent change in state law, saying, “I think that new law has… it’s had an effect. Not every district is seeing that effect, but we have benefited from it.” The specific law was not named in the meeting.
The comments amount to a district putting on the record that a new state measure is working locally, even as the speaker acknowledged other districts have not seen the same results. Mississippi education officials track how legislation plays out once it reaches classrooms, and Vicksburg Warren’s figures offer one concrete data point in that ongoing comparison.