The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on Tuesday released attendance data of teachers and administrative staff of the state’s school districts for the 2024-2025 school year.
This marks the first time DESE has released school staff attendance data. The department shared the data for transparency and to complement student attendance data, which they have released in the past, according to a DESE spokesperson. The data and future data will be used to identify trends going forward, the spokesperson told MassLive.
The average attendance rate for the 82,453 teachers in Massachusetts was 93.5% during the 2024-2025 school year, according to the data. There were an average of 11.7 absences among teachers during the school year.
The attendance rate for the 12,264 school administrators in the state was 94.5%, with an average of 11.3 absences last year. Finally, the average attendance rate for all 159,653 school staff members in Massachusetts was 93.4% with an average of 11.9 absences, according to the data.
During DESE’s Nov. 18 meeting, Commissioner Pedro Martinez said the data will be used to help gain a better understanding of how absences may affect how students achieve in classrooms. He said the data is not to be used to evaluate the individual performances of teachers.
“Districts need to analyze this information to see what the impact is,” Martinez said.
The school district with the lowest total staff and teacher attendance rate was the King Philip Regional School District, made up of the towns of Norfolk, Plainville and Wrentham, according to DESE. The teachers in the school district had an 88.4% attendance rate and the entire staff had an 89% attendance rate. Its administrator attendance rate was 91.3%.
The school district with the lowest administrator attendance rate was Gill-Montague Regional School District, serving both Gill and Montague in Franklin County, with a rate of 86.7%.
As for Massachusetts’ three largest cities, Boston, Worcester and Springfield, their attendance rate was close to the state’s average.
Boston Public Schools’ attendance rate for all of its staff was 93.5%. The district’s teachers had an attendance rate of 94% while its administrators had an attendance rate of 93.1%.
Worcester’s attendance rate for its school staff was 92.6%. Its teacher attendance rate was 92.7% and its administrator attendance rate was 94.1%. Finally, Springfield’s attendance rate for its school staff was 93.3%. Its teacher attendance rate was 93.9% and its administrator attendance rate was 95.5%.
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