Mount Vernon High School had the highest truancy rate among 20 schools in Jefferson County - 20.3%, while Waltonville Grade School had the highest attendance rate - 95.8%.
Students are considered chronically truant if they miss 5% of school days or more per year without acceptable excuses. The statewide truancy rate was 22.1% during the 2021-2022 school year.
Some schools have incomplete data, which is factored into the calculations.
In Jefferson County schools enrolled 5,241 students in the 2021-2022 school year, and average daily attendance was at 92.4% for the year, the Illinois State Board of Education reported. The average daily rate of attendance across the state was 90.8%.
In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 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 year (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.
| School | Chronic truancy rates (%) |
|---|---|
| Mount Vernon High School | 20.3 |
| Zadok Casey Middle School | 20 |
| Webber High School | 18.7 |
| Bluford Grade School | 10.5 |
| J.L. Buford Intermediate Education Center | 10.5 |
| Field Elementary School | 4.9 |
| Summersville Grade School | 4.4 |
| Rome Community Consolidated Elementary School | 3.9 |
| Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center | 2.4 |
| School | Daily attendance rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Waltonville Grade School | 95.8 |
| Summersville Grade School | 95.4 |
| Woodlawn Grade School | 95.2 |
| Farrington Elementary School | 94.9 |
| Waltonville High School | 94.7 |
| Woodlawn High School | 94.4 |
| Grand Prairie Elementary School | 94.4 |
| Rome Community Consolidated Elementary School | 93.7 |
| J.L. Buford Intermediate Education Center | 93.7 |
| McClellan Elementary School | 93.6 |
| Bethel Grade School | 93.5 |
| Spring Garden Elementary School | 93.4 |
| Field Elementary School | 93.4 |
| Bluford Grade School | 93.3 |
| Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center | 93.1 |
| Zadok Casey Middle School | 92.5 |
| Opdyke-Belle Rive Grade School | 92.2 |
| Spring Garden Middle School | 91.6 |
| Webber High School | 89.4 |
| Mount Vernon High School | 88.2 |
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