MOOSE JAW — A new report shows that attendance rates in Prairie South School Division have almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, while graduation rates are almost at the targeted goal.
Division administration presented an updated student accountability report during the recent board meeting.
The report showed that by June 30, the division’s overall attendance was 90.84 per cent. In comparison, that figure was 91 per cent in 2022-23, 90.04 per cent in 2021-22 and 92.1 per cent in 2020-21.
Data for last year also showed that rural kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools in the north had attendance rates of 93.1 per cent while similar schools in the south had attendance rates of 92.7 per cent. Together, these numbers average out to 92.9 per cent.
This was the first year that Prairie South clustered schools into northern and southern groups, so there are no comparable figures from previous years since all rural schools were combined into one group.
So, in 2022-23, the attendance rate for all rural schools was 92.1 per cent; in 2021-22, the rate was 91.53 per cent; in 2020-21, the rate was 93.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, at the end of June, urban elementary schools had an attendance rate of 90.44 per cent, compared to 90.2 per cent one year ago, 87.57 per cent two years ago and 90.8 per cent three years ago.
Also, at the end of June, high schools had a collective attendance rate of 89.23 per cent, compared to 89 per cent one year ago, 88.82 per cent two years ago and 90.8 per cent three years ago.
“The most recent data that came out that’s not in this report is that (during) the last three years, we’ve seen an increase in attendance rates,” said superintendent Derrick Huschi. “But we took a significant drop of about five per cent going into COVID. So we are almost back at target.”
Graduation
The report also looked at graduation rates from the past three years.
The division’s on-time graduation rate goal for students completing high school within the normal time frame is 90 per cent, while its extended grad rate goal for those who require an extra year or two to complete high school is 92 per cent.
At the end of June, Prairie South had an on-time graduation rate of 87.3 per cent, which was the same number one year ago and slightly lower than the 89.3 per cent graduation rate two years ago.
Meanwhile, its extended grad rate by June was 91.3 per cent, compared to 90.3 per cent one year ago and 92.9 per cent two years ago.
All Saskatchewan school divisions adopted the 2020 education sector strategic plan (ESSP) in 2015, which required them to monitor, increase and report on student graduation rates, the report said. School divisions are still required to monitor this area under the new 2030 provincial education plan (PEP), which they adopted last year.
“The new language (in PEP) is they talk about on-time and they talk about extended, but they don’t talk (about) four-year (or) five-year (graduation rates),” said Huschi.
All school divisions start tracking graduation rates when students enter Grade 10, but the problem is Saskatchewan is facing a “transient population,” he continued. This means a student could attend Prairie South in Grade 10, acquire two credits, and move elsewhere, but remain on the grad list.
That data will change next year, as the division will track only those students who start and finish Grade 10 in Prairie South, Huschi said.
Division administration hired two career consultants last year to ensure students make informed decisions about their career pathways, while it opened Pathways School, a non-traditional high school, which was successful since two students graduated from there, he added. Also, one behavioural consultant was hired to help students struggling to attend.
The next PSSD meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
