Sangamon Sun

Students in Sangamon County schools were truant 29.8% of the time in the 2021-22 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education reported. The truancy rate was lower than the previous school year.

There were 26,878 students enrolled in Sangamon County in the 2021-22 school year, meaning 8,008 students were absent throughout the year.

The dropout rate in the county was 5.1%, 0.2% higher than the year before.

Statewide, Hardin County schools suffered the most truancy issues (38.4%) in the 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, Monroe County schools successfully recorded the lowest truancy rate in the region (3.1%).

Students are generally considered chronically truant if they miss 5% or more of the total number of school days in a year without acceptable excuses.

In 2022, Illinois had more than 1.9 million students enrolled in nearly 4,000 schools across 852 school districts. There were more than 350,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped three percent between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

Schools	No. of students enrolled	Chronic truancy rates
Auburn Elementary School	303	10.3%
Auburn High School	388	16.2%
Auburn Junior High At Divernon	245	9.4%
Auburn Middle School	224	-
Ball Elementary School	594	4.7%
Benjamin Franklin Middle School	712	43.9%
Black Hawk Elementary School	241	82.9%
Butler Elementary School	300	63.3%
Chatham Elementary School	493	4.5%
Dubois Elementary School	376	73.6%
Early Learning Center	419	-
Edwin A. Lee Elementary School	239	82%
Elizabeth Graham Elementary School	268	76.1%
Enos Elementary School	263	76.8%
Fairview Elementary School	258	59.9%
Farmingdale Elementary School	458	-
Feitshans Elementary School	320	78.4%
Glenwood Elementary School	589	8.5%
Glenwood High School	1,471	10.6%
Glenwood Intermediate School	760	4.6%
Glenwood Middle School	729	10.7%
Harvard Park Elementary School	430	72.3%
Hazel Dell Elementary School	114	71.2%
Iles Elementary School	377	25.1%
Jane Addams Elementary School	259	77.4%
Jefferson Middle School	570	64.3%
Laketown Elementary School	163	62.1%
Lanphier High School	1,143	80%
Lincoln Magnet School	301	13.6%
Lindsay School	430	58.2%
Matheny-Withrow Elementary School	201	68.2%
McClernand Elementary School	209	84.5%
New Berlin Elementary School	404	-
New Berlin High School	252	-
New Berlin Junior High School	192	-
Owen Marsh Elementary School	262	38.3%
Pawnee Grade School	323	-
Pawnee Junior/Senior High School	220	11.2%
Pleasant Plains High School	404	2.5%
Pleasant Plains Middle School	383	-
Ridgely Elementary School	294	67.4%
Riverton Elementary School	504	11.4%
Riverton High School	367	14.6%
Riverton Middle School	365	12.6%
Rochester Elementary 2-3	257	-
Rochester Elementary Ec-1 School	324	-
Rochester High School	750	6%
Rochester Intermediate School	424	2.8%
Rochester Junior High School	347	-
Sandburg Elementary School	257	44.8%
Sherman Elementary School	562	-
Southern View Elementary School	156	66.9%
Springfield Ball Charter School	394	43.1%
Springfield High School	1,470	45.7%
Springfield Southeast High School	1,215	58.6%
Tri-City Elementary School	303	6.7%
Tri-City High School	166	17.9%
Tri-City Junior High School	121	9.1%
U.S. Grant Middle School	544	48.6%
Washington Middle School	506	75.2%
Wilcox Elementary School	229	65%
Williamsville High School	468	2.3%
Williamsville Junior High School	473	-