Nearly 44% absence rate at Mississauga high school

Two schools that offer alternative programs for high schoolers had the highest reported absence rates in Mississauga on Thursday, according to government data.

The province recently shifted from reporting COVID-19 cases in schools to monitoring overall absence rates. Students and staff attendance are combined, and it is unclear how much the absence rates are affected by COVID-19.

On Feb. 17, St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School, and Peel Alternative School, both had by far the highest absence rates out of the 160 schools in Mississauga. Romero Secondary reported a 43.6 per cent absence rate, while Peel Alternative South reported 38.5.

Romero’s specialities include flexible alternative learning, and programs for suspended and expelled students. It also offers dual credit college transition, an outdoor education program,, and career opportunities in trades and technology in cooperation with Sheridan College. Peel Alternative School, which is part of the Peel public board (PDSB), aims to support students age 12 to 18 who have learning needs that are not met in regular secondary schools, with the end goal of helping them re-integrate into a standard learning format.

Three other schools in Mississauga reported absence rates of more than 20 per cent on Thursday. Lorne Park Secondary School reported 27.3 per cent, followed by St. Barbara Elementary School (24.6) and Munden Park Public School (21.6). Munden Park is just 2.5 kilometres away from Peel Alternative South.

Five other schools had around 1-in-6 members of their school population away. Here is an updated list, with notes on whether the school is part of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board (DPCDSB) or Peel District public (PDSB).

Ontario students have spent more time out of classrooms than their counterpart Earlier this week, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the Ontario PC Party government will allocate $35 million toward eduation recovery in the province. However, that is for more than two million students in the public system,.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association said that was “not nearly enough” to help surmount the effects of two years of disrupted learning.

1. $35M is not nearly enough to help students recover after 2 years of disrupted learning.

2. @Sflecce wants to offset the effects of online learning and at the same time plans to implement mandatory e-learning for teens.🤔🤨🤯#onted #onpoli https://t.co/iXk09535FX #onted

— Catholic Teachers (@OECTAProv) February 17, 2022

The Ontario PCs inherited a $15.9-billion school repairs backlog when they were elected in 2018. The opposition Ontario New Democrats education critic, Marit Stiles, said the backlog is now up to $16.8 billion.