Just under 100 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Mat-Su School District last week. That is the lowest total case count the district has had since school opened. Most of district schools are in the green operational zone and all bus routes are finally staffed and running. Now the district is focusing on tackling its next pressing issue: a stubbornly high absence rate.
The first eleven weeks of school were chaotic. Over 2,400 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the Mat-Su School District, leading to multiple school closures. In the lower valley, bus routes went unstaffed, leaving parents with the unexpected obligation to get their kids to and from school.
This has left the district with sporadic attendance. Twenty percent of Mat-Su students have been reported absent from school on a daily basis. Northern Valley schools are reporting even higher numbers. Su-Valley Jr/Sr High School has a 31% absentee rate, and Willow Elementary states that 29% of their students have not been in attendance on a regular basis. In contrast, Talkeetna Elementary and Trapper Creek Elementary have reported good attendance.
Superintendent Randy Trani is concerned. He feels that chronic absenteeism is correlated with dramatic learning loss. He’s concerned that the pandemic has taught children that attendance is optional. Dr. Trani sent an email to parents last week urging them to send their healthy kids to school.
But the problem is multi-faceted. Before the pandemic, many parents would send their children to school with runny noses. Now those parents are more careful about their kids sharing and receiving routine colds at school. On-line learning has made it easy for children to make up missed work at home.
It’s unclear whether the student absence rate will lesson if the number of reported COVID cases in the district continues to fall, or if schools have reached a “new normal” until the pandemic loosens its persistent grip throughout the state.
