By Adam Swift
School district attendance rates held steady in April, and the high school drop-out rate saw a slight decline over the same time period from last year.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tamara Blake-Canty provided the school committee with an update on the district’s indicators of success for April at last week’s meeting.
“Pre-K through eighth grade daily attendance rate is holding strong at an average of 93 percent for the month of April along with the year-to-date,” said Blake-Canty. “Our high school is holding steady at about 85 percent average, also for the month of April and year-to-date.”
The high school enrollment as of Oct. 1 was 1,683 students.
“The number of students that have dropped out has been 55, there is a .51 percent decrease when compared to last year,” Blake-Canty said. “What our drop-out rate is indicating is that progress is being made and that we are able to retain most of our students.”
Blake-Canty also reviewed the mobility rate in the schools, which measures the number of students who enter and leave the school district over the course of the school year.
At the Early Learning Center, there were two students who came in and zero who left. At the elementary level, there were nine students in and seven students out. The middle school level saw four students come in and six leaving, while at the high school there were seven students in and seven students who left during the month of April.
“At the district, the total for the month of April was 22 students in and 20 students out,” said Blake-Canty. “From the month of September to current date, we’ve had 450 students in and 311 students out. That is a difference of 139 students that we have been able to retain.”
In other business, school committee member Dr. Sarah Neville highlighted the Chelsea Research Festival, which is taking place on Monday, May 18.
“The Chelsea Research Festival is a poster session for academics from universities and hospitals and everyone coming to share their Chelsea-related research back to the community,” said Neville. “But also, a lot of our students are going to be presenting with them as well in this adult poster fair, so I really hope that people will come and support our students. We have 40 research projects that are being shared, which is the most ever that we have had, and 14 of those projects are by Chelsea students.”
The event takes place at Chelsea High School, with a session from 1:30 to 3 p.m. so high school students can come through and see the research posters, followed by an additional session from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for parents and other community members.