More Absenteeism At Hinsdale Central, South

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale Central and South high schools saw an increase in absenteeism last school year, according to state figures. But they were far from alone.

By the state's definition, students who are considered chronically absent missed 10 percent or more of school days with or without a valid excuse.

At Hinsdale Central, 20 percent of students were chronically absent last school year, compared with 6 percent the two previous years. In 2019, the rate was 9 percent.

At Hinsdale South, 23 percent of students were chronically absent last school year, compared with 17 percent in 2021 and 10 percent in 2020. In 2019, the rate was 17 percent.

Among wealthy nearby schools, Lyons Township had the greatest rate of chronic absenteeism in 2022, at 28 percent. York High's was 22 percent, while Downers High School District 99 was at 23 percent.

New Trier and Stevenson high schools, long seen as the gold standard among wealthy schools in Illinois, had absenteeism rates of 19 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

So why are the absenteeism rates higher? Many believe the pandemic is a factor.

"Parents were ... conditioned during COVID that it's OK to keep the kid home. So certainly, we want students staying home if they're ill, but otherwise, we have to create the conditions for them to come to school every day," Elgin-based District 46 Superintendent Tony Sanders told ABC7 last week.

Those conditions, educators told the TV station, include addressing the social and emotional needs of students so that they want to go back to school.