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Peoria Standard

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Truancy among Mason County students rose in 2021-22 school year compared to the previous school cycle

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Havana High School Principal Mr. David Mckinney (2023) | Havana High School

Havana High School Principal Mr. David Mckinney (2023) | Havana High School

Students in Mason County schools were truant 8.8% of the time in the 2021-22 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education reported. The truancy rate was lower than the previous school year.

There were 2,406 students enrolled in Mason County in the 2021-22 school year, meaning 211 students were absent throughout the year.

The dropout rate in the county was 6.6%, 1.9% higher than the year before.

Statewide, Hardin County schools suffered the most truancy issues (38.4%) in the 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, Monroe County schools successfully recorded the lowest truancy rate in the region (3.1%).

Students are generally considered chronically truant if they miss 5% or more of the total number of school days in a year without acceptable excuses.

In 2022, Illinois had more than 1.9 million students enrolled in nearly 4,000 schools across 852 school districts. There were more than 350,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped three percent between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

Mason County Chronic Truancy Rates Over 2 Years

2020-212021-220.02.55.07.510.012.515.017.520.022.525.013.713.722.822.88.88.822.122.1Mason CountyState

Mason County Chronic Truancy Rates by School in 2021-22 School Cycle

SchoolsNo. of students enrolledChronic truancy rates
Havana High School27410.1%
Havana Junior High School3154.5%
Illini Central Grade School26818.1%
Illini Central High School18319.9%
Illini Central Middle School15018.6%
Midwest Central High School2779.3%
Midwest Central Middle School1706.1%
Midwest Central Primary School435-
New Central Elementary School271-
West Campus Facility63-

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