North Greene sees drastic reduction in absenteeism

By Editor | June 2, 2026 |

By Carmen Ensinger

North Greene School Board meetings startare begun with school principals giving the highlights from their buildings on everything from highlights from notable sporting events to academic achievements.
Junior/Senior High Principal had some outstanding news to share with the board at the May meeting regarding the number of students who were considered “chronically absent” from the 2024-25 year.
“We had a goal last year to decrease the number of students who were chronically absent by the spring of 2026 by at least five percent,” Berry said. “The total percent of students labeled as chronically absent in 2024-25 was 35 percent. According to our school report card, as of now for our date the number of students labeled chronically absent was 14.6 percent, which is a 20.4 percent decrease, which is a huge win for us.”
Berry noted that this number doesn’t take into account the students who attend Garrison or the ACE schools.
“Granted, we did have some students who did miss a lot of school,” Berry said. “But the volume of those students went down 20 percent so that is very good for us.”
To give upcoming junior high students an idea of what it will be like next year to attend sixth grade, the district brought all of the sixth-grade students over to spend time with their junior high counterparts.
“We brought the sixth graders down and they ate lunch with our junior high students and then they shadowed them for their eighth and ninth period classes that day to see what it will be like to attend seventh grade class next year,” Berry said. “It was quite crowded in one class with 44 kids in that one class but I will say I sat in on that class and I can say the sixth grader’s behavior was outstanding.”
As for student attendance, Berry said the district took a hit in April.
“It was one of our lower student attendance totals for the year we were only at 90.87 percent,” Berry said. “I really don’t’ have much of an explanation for that other than we had some nice 80-degree days in April which is not really typical, plus we had the flu bug hit us at the beginning of the month and the sinus bug passed through the building and that kind of hit our kids pretty hard.”
At the elementary school, Elementary School Principal Samantha Bushnell reported that they wrapped up their Team Reach program.
“This program was made possible through the Scott and Greene County Health Departments,” she said. “We will be meeting later in the week to discuss what the summer plans will be for that summer extension piece.”
North Greene participated in the Girls on the Run program this year and had nine girls take part in the program.
Girls on the Run is a program for girls in third to fifth grade that is meant to inspire individuals of all abilities to discover, build and grow their self-confidence.
Together, they experience a sense of belonging and connection as a team. Volunteer coaches facilitation lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development, including managing emotions, fostering friendships and expressing empathy.
At the end of the season, the team completes a Community Impact Project and a 5K together which provides a tangible sense of accomplishment and sets a confident mindset into motion.
“Unfortunately, only eight of our girls were able to attend the race in St. Louis, but it was really fun for our kids to do,” Bushnell said. “We plan to have another team in the fall and again in the spring.”