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Public school division seeing fewer absences despite ongoing pandemic

“I was just looking to see if we have seen any sort of decrease in absences in students due to the pandemic, and we do definitely see that”

The pandemic could be a great excuse to skip school, but data shows that absences in public schools are down this year compared to the same time last year.

Administration with Prairie South School Division (PSSD) created a report about attendance figures for students and teachers during the 2020-21 school year from September to December and presented it during the recent board of education meeting. 

“This information details absences, however, the COVID-19 pandemic will have affected some of these numbers and we are unable to accurately identify all COVID-related absences,” the report said. “In general, absences are down this year as compared to the same time last year. Some of this will be due to time spent working or learning form home, which we are considering as ‘present.’” 

Trustee Giselle Wilson applauded the report, after requesting the information during a previous board meeting.

“I was just looking to see if we have seen any sort of decrease in absences in students due to the pandemic, and we do definitely see that,” she said. “So, I guess on a positive COVID note, we see that teachers and students are in the schools learning together. So that’s great to see.”

Teacher absence data

The report separated teacher absences by year — September to December 2019 versus the same timeframe in 2020 — and the reasons for those absences, whether division-directed leaves or allowances in the collective agreement.

Based on 440.62 full-time equivalent (FTE) teacher positions, the data showed: 

  • Division-directed leave: 605.4 FTE absences in 2019 versus 115.98 FTE absences in 2020
  • Collective agreement allowances: 812 FTE absences in 2019 versus 565.5 FTE absences in 2020
  • Illness leave (paid and unpaid): 1,223 FTE absences in 2019 versus 1,154 FTE absences in 2020
  • Medical and dental leave: 357 FTE absences in 2019 versus 342 FTE absences in 2020
  • Totals: 2,997.4 FTE absences in 2019 versus 2,177.5 FTE absences in 2020

Student absence data

Division administration compared illness absences for students from September to January for the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 school years.

There were 15,580 student absences during the first five months of the previous school year, while there have been 14,155 student absences during the same time this school year.

Monthly absence reports

In a separate report, teacher absences and substitute usage were recorded from Jan. 22 to Feb. 23. Based on 440.62 FTE teacher positions, the data showed:

  • A total of 679.24 FTE absences occurred
  • 70.76 per cent of teachers required a substitute teacher
  • Substitute teachers provided 480.60 FTE in coverage
  • A total of 18 actual days of teaching was affected, out of a possible 7,931.16 FTE days, or 8.56 per cent

Bus driver absences were recorded from Jan. 25 to Feb. 21. Based on 107 FTE staff positions, the data showed:

  • 95 FTE days were missed
  • A substitute driver was needed 86 per cent of the time
  • A total of 14 actual days of driving was affected, out of a possible 1,498 FTE days, or 6.34 per cent

“I want to congratulate staff because given the pandemic, attendance is phenomenal,” said trustee Mary Jukes. “It’s quite high. They should be commended.”

The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, April 6. 

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