Ottawa parents want more information on school absence rates

The province began releasing school-by-school absentee rates amongst staff and students on Monday. But the absences also include non-COVID-19 related reasons.

“Schools still feel daunting, regardless of what the data shows. I predict we will see a high rate of absenteeism for a host of reasons,” says mom Michelle Coates Mather.

Coates Mather has two school-aged children, and she says she will look at the data released by the province. But it doesn’t give her a complete picture of how much COVID-19 is in schools.

She says she is expecting to see high percentages of absenteeism in her kids’ schools for a while.

“I don’t know if (the absentee data) gives me assurance, all it does is demonstrate, as much as we want to be out of this thing, we aren’t just yet. But I am hopeful that the data that they focus on is severity of illness because that as a parent, is what matters to me most.”