Truancy among Clinton County students rose in 2021-22 school year compared to the previous school cycle

Damiansville Elementary School Principal Mr. Dustin Nail (2023) | Damiansville Elementary School

By South Central Reporter

Oct 17, 2023

Students in Clinton County schools were truant 2.5% of the time in the 2021-22 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education reported. The truancy rate was lower than the previous school year.

There were 5,088 students enrolled in Clinton County in the 2021-22 school year, meaning 127 students were absent throughout the year.

The dropout rate in the county was 3.1%, 0.2% higher than the year before.

Statewide, Hardin County schools suffered the most truancy issues (38.4%) in the 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, Monroe County schools successfully recorded the lowest truancy rate in the region (3.1%).

Students are generally considered chronically truant if they miss 5% or more of the total number of school days in a year without acceptable excuses.

In 2022, Illinois had more than 1.9 million students enrolled in nearly 4,000 schools across 852 school districts. There were more than 350,000 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 years (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.

Clinton County Chronic Truancy Rates Over 2 Years

Clinton County Chronic Truancy Rates by School in 2021-22 School Cycle

Schools	No. of students enrolled	Chronic truancy rates
Albers Elementary School	174	-
Aviston Elementary School	407	-
Bartelso Elementary School	180	-
Beckemeyer Elementary School	171	-
Breese Elementary School	426	3.2%
Carlyle Elementary School	384	-
Carlyle High School	300	-
Carlyle Junior High School	309	-
Central Community High School	616	6.4%
Damiansville Elementary School	91	-
Germantown Elementary School	236	-
New Baden Elementary School	233	-
North Wamac Grade School	113	12.6%
St. Rose Elementary School	186	-
Trenton Elementary School	252	-
Wesclin Middle School	455	-
Wesclin Senior High School	386	4.1%
Willow Grove Elementary School	169	16.9%