The first step in improving education? Getting students to actually show up for it. Officials in Nogales, AZ, are increasing their efforts to combat truancy:
Almost half of Nogales High School students who miss 30 or more classes per semester will have one or more referrals to juvenile court. Statistics compiled by the Santa Cruz County Probation department reveal an issue that officials are working to address: children who don't attend school are more likely to be involved in crime...
The correlation between truancy and juvenile crime has prompted county agencies and school districts to discuss possible solutions to the problem...
Officials are considering putting intervention options into place to address the issues behind chronic truancy.
One such option is in the planning stages. Current plans include investigating truancy cases and offering outreach and counseling services to families. Truancy is usually the symptom of other problems, Chase explained.
It is hoped that grant funding received through the Weed and Seed program will pay for truancy prevention and other programs. Operation Weed and Seed is administered by the United States Department of Justice. To participate, communities are required to come up with a strategic plan aimed at reducing crime and bringing human services to people who need them.
The article points out that lower attendance rates not only result in lower average test scores, but also in decreased government funding. One Nogales elementary school was missing 20% of its kids for 10 or more days out of one semester. If changes are going to be effective, I think they need to target children this age (and their parents).
Posted by kswygert at February 10, 2004 09:52 AM