Superintendent calls for communication as absences build up

School superintendent Dan Sims says student absenteeism is still a problem in Bibb County and numbers tend to spike on Mondays and Fridays.

Last school year, the Bibb County School District reported 28.5% of students were chronically absent, which means they missed 10% or more of the school year. The state average for chronic absenteeism is 19.5%, according to the Georgia Department of Education’s attendance dashboard.

District officials have been working to cut the problem in half by the end of the school year. The figure currently sits at 24.5%, according to a February report.

Compared to the other days of the week, there are nearly a thousand more absences on the day before the weekend and the day after, according to a February report. The district recorded more than 6,000 absences on a snowy Monday back in January.

“When I see a pattern like this, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Sims said. “I’m calling it out as an issue and … my goal with calling it out is for people to be honest with themselves.”

Sims — who posted about the absenteeism problem on Facebook on Monday — said he wants to understand why students aren’t showing up if they’re not sick or dealing with another emergency. The reasons the district commonly hears include transportation and problems at home.

The district hired a truancy specialist last August to raise attendance by delving into the “barriers” preventing students from going to school. Sims said the specialist and the district are working every day to increase attendance and solicit community partners.

Sims said school officials are doing all they can do and need parents’ help to make sure kids are coming to school. 

“It’s just a matter of families responding,” he said.