Rankin County schools dominate best schools for chronic absenteeism.
The Mississippi Department of Eduction issued the following press release.
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has released the 2025-26 Chronic Absenteeism Report, which shows Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate slightly decreased to 26.5%, representing 115,385 students who missed important instructional time in the last school year. The rate for the 2024-25 school year was 27.6%.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year (equivalent to 18 days) for any reason, which includes excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. The 2025-26 report shows 36% excused absences and 64% unexcused absences for the school year.
“It is encouraging to see a decrease in the state’s chronic absenteeism rate. This tells us that schools, districts, and families are doing what’s necessary to ensure more students get to school to receive essential and valuable instruction,” said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. “The MDE’s goal is to see this rate fall even more and support families in removing barriers that result in a student missing school.”
The report shows chronic absenteeism rates are lowest among grades 2-5, higher in kindergarten and first grade, and highest in grades 6-12. The grade-level data in the report should help districts develop improvement plans specific to grade levels as opposed to a universal approach for all K-12 students. In addition to data use, MDE’s efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism involve early identification of attendance concerns, meaningful family engagement and targeted interventions.
MDE has outlined immediate steps districts and schools can take to address chronic absenteeism, which include:
- Use positive reinforcement to improve student attendance
- Connect attendance to the school brand
- Create a mentorship program
- Consider alternatives to suspension
- Recognize good and improved attendance
- Develop programmatic response to attendance barriers
- Work with School Attendance Officers to identify and engage students who are at risk of becoming chronically absent
The chronic absenteeism rate for Mississippi’s 2025-26 report was calculated based on students being in school for less than 63% of their instructional day. Starting with the 2026-27 school year, MDE will calculate chronic absenteeism rates based on the federal definition of an absence, which is defined as missing 50% or more of the school day.
Mississippi’s Compulsory School Attendance law was updated in the 2026 legislative session to address school attendance issues. Some key points of the law for 2026-27 are that students will be considered present when they are in school for 66% of their school day; excuses for all medical/dental appointments require provider documentation; students are limited to five excused absences per semester unless the superintendent approves more for extenuating circumstances; and schools must check in with parents when a student has three absences.
MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016. The lowest rate of 13% was in 2018-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is believed to be the major factor that led to higher state and national rates in 2021-22 when Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate reached a record-high of 28%. The U.S. Department of Education released data through Ed Data Express, which showed that chronic absenteeism nationally rose from 16% before the pandemic to nearly 30% in the 2021-22 school year.
View the 2025-26 Chronic Absenteeism Report at mdek12.org/publicreporting/
Kingfish note: That was the bureaucratese, now for the rest of the story.
Jackson Metro Area School Districts
Canton: 23%
Clinton: 17%
Hinds County: 30%
Jackson: 32%
Madison County: 29%
Pearl: 23%
Rankin County: 12%
Worst of the Worst in Jackson Metro Area
Provine High School: 62%
Ridgeland High School: 60%
Jim Hill High School: 57%
Madison Central High School: 57%
Reimagine Prep: 55%
Germantown High School: 55%
Forest Hill High School: 52%
Galloway Elementary: 52%
Midtown Charter: 48%
Murrah High School: 48%
Ridgeland, Madison Central, and Germantown are in the worst 23 schools of the state in terms of chronic absenteeism rate.
Best of the Best in Jackson Metro Area (First Four were equal to or less than 5%)
Bailey Magnet
Barak Obama Elementary
Madison County Pre-School
Northwest Middle
Florence Elementary: 6%
Brandon Elementary: 6%
Stonebridge Elementary: 7%
Timberlawn Elementary: 7%
Northshore Elementary: 8%
Florence Middle: 8%
Mannsdale Elementary: 9%
Brandon Middle School: 10%
Byram Middle: 11%
38 comments:
When the childrens doesn't learning, that are a sad times.
This is just a "snapshot" into the lack of parenting for Madison and Hinds County. FYI...stop trying to be your child's "best friend" and "parent them" like you are supposed to do.
If our governance was smart, they would tie monetary funding or "non-funding" to these statistics. We already pay an exorbitant price per student and IF they do NOT show up to school, cut the funding by the exact same amount per year!
Our school administrators are simply going along for the ride. Where is their involvement in making these stats decrease? Yes, I'm painting with a very wide brush...but I fear it's not "wide enough"!
Good one, 8:23!
I'm betting that with collegiate athletic "NIL" monies being spent, absentee rates are much higher than the ones posted above.
More Velma Jackson & Ridgeland High school that is causing this issue
I remember when Deer Season Opened on a Wednesday...They had to change that to Saturday because there was nobody in class for the last three days of the week...And the teachers made accommodations for us!
8:53 They learned you good
WHOOOOOOOO! Madison elites clutching their pearls!
What do you expect from public schools
It’s just more enshitification. Public schools are absolutely unbearable for gifted students. If your parents are too poor to get you into a private school then you will be forced to suffer in a hell of brain-rotted retards and bullies who are pulling pistols at night and doing drive-by shootings.
What in the hell is going on in Madison County??? Literally every high school in that county has that issue.
That makes me feel a little better. I always thought Ms. was filled up with idiots. Now I see they are just not educated.
Apparently, once the absent kids' parent(s) no longer need the lower grade schools for baby sitting, they just turn many kids loose to become ferals, just like the parent(s) had done.
In my high school, truancy officers imposed strict discipline on such situations.
WHOOOOOOOO! Non-Madison residents clutching their pearls wishing they could live here.
Madison County is in Mississippi, right? Well, there you go.
I get the idea behind chronic is 18 days, but where is the break down between excused and non excused? Big difference between injury, family emergency, or sickness vs vacation, hotty totty, hail state, smttt, or choice.
Need to have law whereby school millage can be proportional to the absenteeism rate of that school district. Or at least tied to the superintendents 6 figure salary.
Madison elites do not send their children to public schools: not anymore. And it's not Madison-proper's schools which are the problem. Madison COUNTY has Canton, and now Tijuana Zona Norte - I mean "Ridgeland", as problem children.
However, Coral Gables, Highland Park, Mountain Brook, Beverly Hills, Rancho Santa Fe, and Palos Verdes Estates, also have, for generations, had scummy areas adjacent their boundaries. And they're doing FINE. And have you considered what's just north of Manhattan's oh-so-classy Upper East Side (and has been, since the 1920s)? The UES still outranks Central Park South, despite being far closer to vastly more problematic people.
I'm not really seeing a full definition for these numbers - do those percentages represent the percentage of students that are chronically absent? It's pretty wild to see so many over 50%
Maybe it's time to start voting for the county school administrator instead of appointing one like they do now. Bring back Mike Kent!!!!
Love how Madison gets blasted for being a normal, functional city on this board. As opposed to Gotham City Jr. to the south.
People hear Madison Co and they immediately think Madison Central. However ridgeland high school is Madison county schools as well and so is Velma Jackson. Both of those school are similar to Calloway or murrah
LOL at the mention of Madison in the context of Coral Gables, Highland Park, Mountain Brook, Beverly Hills, Rancho Santa Fe, and Palos Verdes Estates. Many madisonites are delusional enough to think those are relevant comparisons. SAD!
The only people in Madison using the public schools these days are the faux wealthy whose Range Rover lease payments are so high they can't afford private schools.
@10:21 the weird thing to me now is how many people will just take their kids out of school for non-sickness or emergency reasons at the drop of a hat multiple times per year.
I graduated high school in the 1900s and I never remember a large number of students being out of school for non-sick reasons. Some parents didn't make their kids attend consistently and sometimes a long weekend trip to the beach may start on Friday, but that wasn't the norm. It certainly wasn't multiple times per year. Because not only do they miss those days then find themselves sick with the flu, strep throat, or stomach bug and the absences add up over time.
You have stumbled on Madison County Schools' dirty little secret.
Kids miss for everything. Its not low income kids. Its everyone. So many check outs. The administrators know that its a problem but its something that has "always been done."
Madison Central just lets kids check out on their own. Seeing that 57% next to Madison Central should be embarassing to the administration. District should fix those issues by Monday but it will be unpopular amongst the parents who love their kids not going to school for whatever reason.
Madison Central is full of "Madison Elite" kids & has had the highest number of National Merit Semifinalist students in the state for the last 5 years, 26 this year alone.
This is BS! We send our kids to Madison Public over private & can definitely afford private. Madison has an amazing school district & our children our thriving in athletics & academics.
Sounds like educational malpractice
I have long thought that West Ridgeland deserves it’s own, smaller high school. There are so many nice houses in Ridgeland and it’s unfair that they would have to send their kids to RHS. The home values would be much higher if not in RHS district.
What's your point? That schools attended by students from poor families, who don't have parents who were dedicated to schools, attend school less frequestly than kids from wealthier familes, whose parents benefited from racially segregated schools, do? Is that your point? What a surprise! This is explained by an examination of how virulent racial prejudice in the past still affects children today. It's what is studied in University courses in CRT.
26 national merit finalists out of how many? HAH! That has to be less than 1% of all the high school students. Not exactly something to brag about.
Boy the racism is wide open in the comments again. I see y'all didn't do well in Statistics at Hobby Lobby. Those Kappa Delta parties got the best you guys I see.
I call BS on the private school comment. Madison Central is the top school in the state academic wise... no one in Madison (but parents with kids that can't make the sports team) go to private school. Why pay for a worse education?
As for the absenteeism at Madison Central... it is definitely exists but is not necessarily a problem. If you have a 3.5 GPA or higher, a National Merit Award Semi-Finalist, or have a 30+ on your ACT, you are allowed to miss certain classes in your Junior and Senior year. It has been that way for a while... I'm afraid the problem is that there are just that many students that fit the bill at MC... which is not really a problem.
This is should be no surprise to King Fish. We used to skip every day back in 2000 and go work out at North East Courthouse.
You can count on it. The wealthier the school district, the more often parents threaten to sue. They should have to sign a waiver that they cannot sue when it comes to the school attempting to enforce chronic truancy. If fact, those wealthier parents should just be billed for each day the child is absent, on top of making them repeat the grade if they go over the allotted amount.
“School” may not be the correct word. These are “Attendance Centers”…..
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