After recent dips in attendance caused by outbreaks of COVID-19 and influenza, officials from the Lamar County School District are beginning to see attendance numbers returning back to the normal standards previously seen.
District superintendent Steven Hampton said the flu outbreak that occurred in several schools in October seems to have run its course, and students have been able to come back to classes mostly unimpeded by illness.
“Our attendance rates have been much, much higher in the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ve been averaging 92, 93 percent in our district, so we’re very proud that (students) are getting back to school.
“We want our students at school, and that’s something we’re always going to measure to make sure (it happens). They can’t learn if they’re not there.”
The flu outbreak began in late October at Purvis High School and Purvis Middle School, while mostly skipping the younger grades such as elementary and kindergarten. Cases of the virus then popped up in Oak Grove schools before it made its way to schools in Sumrall.
To help prevent further outbreaks, school staff used water bottle fillers rather than drinking fountains. Those fillers were purchased with government funds issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think (the flu) has run its course, and I think (these higher attendance numbers) show the value that our students put on coming to school, knowing they need to be there to learn,” Hampton said. “(It also shows) the value that our teachers and staff put on having our kids there.
“I know our teachers and our staff, they call and check on kids and make sure that they’re in school, and we want them to be there.”
Officials generally have an attendance goal of 95 percent, depending on various schools and situations.
“You always set a lofty kind of goal that’s just kind of attainable, but it’s a reach,” Hampton said. “We think that (95 percent) is attainable, so to average that would be good.
“I would say, pre-COVID, there were times where we were up to 94, 94.5 percent, and so to get back to that would be ideal. But I think we’re making strides toward that.”
During the flu outbreak, Hampton noted that the first cases of the virus seemed to have started after homecoming activities in Purvis, followed by the same circumstances in Oak Grove.
“They had homecoming dances and all that stuff, so if I had to put a finger on it, it would be more the social events outside of school, where students are interacting,” he said in a previous story. “That’s my guess.
“It’s highly correlated to homecoming and events from homecoming.”
At the time, officials were unable to tell exactly how many students had been affected by influenza.
“We don’t have a way of tracking that,” Hampton said. “They just come back with a medical excuse … and we don’t have a way of putting flu or cold or COVID or anything into our student information system.”
Officials from Sumrall Drug Store on Mississippi 42 did confirm the flu vaccine was available at that location during the outbreak.
