Absenteeism Soars on the Last Day of School in Montgomery County
The last day of school for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students was June 20th but 33,496 students did not go to class that half day, according to information obtained by MyMCMedia.
You may remember that the last day of school was pushed back from June 17 to June 20th because of the number of snow days that were used during the winter. All school systems are required by state law to provide at least 180 days of instruction in a school year.
According to absentee data provided by MCPS, over 21-percent of the district’s 158,151 students were counted as absent on June 20th.
MCPS Spokesperson Derek Turner said that is more than last year when 16.9-percent of the district’s students skipped the final day – and, he said, that was also a Monday.
You can review this year’s absentee data for the last two weeks of school, as provided by MCPS, below:
| SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School Day | # Student Full Day Absent | # Students Enrolled | % Absent |
| 6/6/2016 | 7,694 | 158,147 | 4.87 |
| 6/7/2016 | 6,536 | 158,152 | 4.13 |
| 6/8/2016 | 6,468 | 158,146 | 4.09 |
| 6/9/2016 | 6,903 | 158,154 | 4.36 |
| 6/10/2016 | 8,004 | 158,149 | 5.06 |
| 6/13/2016 | 7,893 | 158,155 | 4.99 |
| 6/14/2016 | 4,945 | 158,152 | 3.13 |
| 6/15/2016 | 5,473 | 158,153 | 3.46 |
| 6/16/2016 | 7,018 | 158,151 | 4.44 |
| 6/17/2016 | 10,398 | 158,151 | 6.57 |
| 6/20/2016 | 33,496 | 158,151 | 21 |
Um, any wonder why??? 1/2 day on a Monday…That was a total waste of time, gas and energy!
We sent our daughter because we won’t allow her to skip school, but we almost did. What a PAIN. We paid for camp and were not reimbursed for that ridiculous 1/2 day.
That 1/2 day was also make up exam day at the high schools, so there was no need for most of them to come.
No reason to freak out, that last day is always poorly attended.