AUBURN — School administrators shared data and updates on each school during the second annual State of the Schools report at Wednesday night’s School Committee meeting.

School principals acknowledged the difficulties of the past two years but were largely positive about the challenges staff has overcome to return to in-person education this academic year.

Most schools reported improvements in their twice-yearly reading proficiency rates, which rose from 49% districtwide in the fall of 2019 to 62% in the fall of 2021.

Walton Elementary School Principal Mike Davis said he believes the new ed-tech III hired this year to address learning loss had a significant impact on improving the reading proficiency rate from 46% in the fall of 2018 to a four-year high for 53% in the fall of 2021.

In previous conversations, Superintendent Cornelia Brown said improving the district’s literacy curriculum has been a priority. This past fall, the elementary schools adopted a new literacy curriculum, and the district is reviewing its math curriculum.

From the fall of 2019 to the fall of 2021, math scores districtwide dropped 8%, from a proficiency rate of 64% to 56%.

Principals also reported an increase in chronic absenteeism, pointing to COVID-19 quarantines as one reason for the spike.

The chronic absenteeism rate represents the percentage of students in each school who have missed 10% of more of enrolled school days, including excused and unexcused absences.

Auburn Middle School had the highest chronic absenteeism rate for the fall at 35%, up from 7.4% in the 2019-20 school year. Chronic absenteeism rates for the other schools providing data ranged between 10% at Fairview school and 25% at Washburn. The high school programs provided graduation rates instead of chronic absenteeism rates.

Auburn Middle School Principal Bob Griffin said the middle and high schools hired a staff member dedicated to reducing absenteeism this school year.

“This person is out visiting families, connecting with parents at their places of work, picking up kids, putting supports in place for families and students, so that has been a great addition,” Griffin said.

Following the State of the Schools report, Brown briefly discussed the new quarantine procedure approved by the Maine Department of Education and answered questions with the help of Assistant Superintendent Sue Doris.

The new quarantine policies, which Brown explained in a letter to the school community Tuesday, generally only require quarantines for students who test positive for COVID-19. This quarantine will last five days, down from the previous 10-day requirement. Due to the district’s universal masking policy, students and staff do not have to quarantine, even if they are a close contact.

At-large representative Pamela Albert, an epidemiologist for the Maine CDC, said she was encouraged by the new guidelines.

“I think it will definitely lead to less disruptions in the school, in the building, in the classroom, especially by reducing the isolation period of positive cases,” she said. “It will keep more students and staff in the building, which is our ultimate goal.”

During public comment, John Stark, whose son attends an elementary school in the district, criticized the School Committee for the universal masking policy, telling representatives they are punishing students over the pandemic. He requested that parents be allowed to vote on the policy by mail.

Stark told the committee in October that he would sue each of them over the policy.

On Wednesday, he said he has “a top-notch lawyer who will tear you a new one.”

After speaking beyond the three-minute limit, he was escorted out of the meeting by a police officer.