Latest News, WVPA Sharing

Officials: Wood Schools struggling with absences

By MICHAEL ERB

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

PARKERSBURG, W.Va.  — More than a quarter of Wood County Schools students missed more than 15 days of school last year, which officials say highlights a constant struggle with chronic absenteeism.

Attendance Director Chris Rutherford addresses the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday, saying that last year more than 26 percent of Wood County Schools students missed more than 15 days of school, the definition of chronic absenteeism.
(Photo by Michael Erb)

Attendance Director Chris Rutherford, along with Director of Elementary Schools Keith Palmer and Director of Secondary Schools Kennith Cook, addressed the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday, presenting student attendance numbers for area schools and the district as a whole.

Rutherford said chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 15 days of school and is considered a precursor to failing grades and discipline issues, which can ultimately result in a student dropping out of school.

During the 2015-16 school year, nearly 70 percent of the district’s 13,046 students missed 5 or more days of school. Those who missed 10-15 days accounted for 42 percent of the student population, while 25.25 percent missed more than 15 days.

In the 2016-17 school year, the student population fell to 12,636, and the percentage of absences increased. The percentage of those who missed five or more days rose to 72.96 percent. Those who missed 10-15 days rose to 44.86 percent, and those missing 15 or more days accounted for 26.77 percent of the student population.

Overall the district’s attendance rate for its 27 schools fell from 93.35 percent in 2015-16 to 93.13 percent in 2016-17. The rate has varied slightly since it hit a high of 94.08 percent in 2011-12.

Rutherford said between 2014 and last year, the attendance rate dropped by about one percentage point, which represents about 110 fewer students attending school each day. Rutherford said that is nearly 20,000 more student absences and thousands of hours of lost instructional time.

“It gives new meaning to ‘you can’t teach an empty seat,’” he said.

In 2014, the district announced it would cut the positions of four Wood County Schools attendance workers and a secretary at the end of the 2014-15 school year, leaving only Rutherford and one secretary in the attendance office. In February 2015, the school board voted to uphold the position reductions in order to remain within the state funding formula.

Rutherford Tuesday talked about the intervention process, how cases are prioritized and managed, and how families are contacted and consulted prior to court action.

“It’s a big effort. It’s literally thousands of cases we’re going through,” he said. “I don’t take a family to court unless I’ve spoken to the family directly.”

The consultations tend to work, Rutherford said, with only about 10-12 percent of cases requiring legal action. Rutherford said efforts by the schools to notify parents about absences seem to reduce chronic absenteeism, but with families moving, eliminating landlines and often switching cell phones, it can be challenging at times to keep in contact.

Rutherford also said the reasons for chronic absenteeism can vary wildly, from neglect or abuse to family illness or even undiagnosed learning disabilities.

“There is a plethora of reasons,” he said. “That’s why having the conversation (with students and families) is so important.”

Superintendent John Flint said reducing chronic absenteeism remains an area of focus for the school system.

“Attendance is at the top of the pyramid,” he said. “That’s what I wanted the board to see, that this item is a priority.”

See more from The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address