LYNN — Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said that overall attendance is down by 3 percent throughout the district this school year, in comparison to the 2019-20 year.
So far, attendance for the 2021-22 school year is at 92 percent. Data was not used for the 2020-21 school year, when students were learning remotely for the majority of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tutwiler said.
The data was shared during last Thursday’s School Committee meeting; during this time, Tutwiler provided an update on the Lynn Public Schools’ Every Student, Every Day attendance initiative, which is aimed at increasing attendance throughout the district.
Tutwiler acknowledged the slight decline in attendance rates and explained that the reason for absences is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, but reminded the committee that attendance in some schools had reached pre-pandemic levels. His team continues to use the resources they have to increase and sustain school-attendance levels.
“You can see clearly that for most schools we are at or slightly below where we were pre-pandemic years,” said Tutwiler. “Our focus is the students in the margin and they deserve our efforts and our attention.”
Tutwiler quickly noted that the 2020-21 school year data was not a part of the report as the differences in percentages would be, “like comparing apples to oranges.”
The data found that except for three schools, almost all of Lynn’s elementary, middle, and high schools had a slight drop in attendance rates from the 2019-20 school year. The three exceptions were Fallon Elementary, which saw an increase from 92 to 95 percent, Fecteau-Leary Junior/Senior High School, which went from 74 to 77 percent and Lynn Woods Elementary, which remained unchanged at 96 percent.
The two schools with the highest drop in attendance were Washington S.T.E.M. Elementary and English High School. Both schools had a 4-percent decline, with Washington going from 95 to 91 percent attendance and English High falling to 88 percent from 92 percent.
The data covers attendance rates from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 for three school years: 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2021-22. All of the attendance rates averaged to create a total attendance percentage for each year. In 2018-19, the average attendance rate for Lynn Public School students was 94 percent. In 2019-20, the average rose by 1 percent to 95 percent before falling by 3 percent during the current school year. The final average of these three combined years is 94 percent.
Committee member Brian Castellanos applauded the superintendent and his team for their efforts to increase attendance rates, but asked if there was a set percentage goal this year.
“What are some target goals for this year?” Castellanos asked. “I would love to get to 100 percent but what’s our goal?”
Tutwiler responded that while he too would like 100-percent attendance rates, he said the goal should be north of 90 percent. He said that the reasons for absences this year could vary, such as parents keeping their child home out of fear of contracting the virus during an uptick in cases.
“The strategies we’re employing, many of them are strategies that have worked,” said Tutwiler. “This is a unique time and these are other variables that come into play.”
The Every Student, Every Day initiative began in Lynn during the 2018-19 school year to help address the issue of chronic absences in schools. Chronic absenteeism is defined by a student missing 18 days or up to 10 percent of the school year.
The program seeks to find ways to address the reasons for a student’s chronic absence and provide the proper care and resources to help them increase student attendance and achievement.
Tutwiler reiterated that this year provided different reasons as to why children might be absent, and added that he understood that there might be more complexities at play.
“Philosophically, we see attendance as a key factor and indicator of wellness in student success,” Tutwiler said. “Conversely, we see absenteeism as a risk factor and potentially reflective issues that require support and intervention. This is not an excuse; this is a call to action.”
