Last week one of the local news stations did a report on
student truancy rates in California. The
According to the report, “In School and On Track”, during the 2012-2013, academic
year 30% of students, which pans out to be about 1 million students overall who
missed school and/or were truant. As we
know, when students are missing school, school districts are missing out on a
critical aspect of education; funding – students equate to dollars.
Therefore, to increase student attendance, and in
the end, decrease student drop-out rates as well as other negative outcomes, the
Sacramento Unified School District implemented a drop-out program for their students
that rewards them, as stated by Ken McPeters, the drop-out prevention
specialist, “to just come to school”. Students
that improve his/her attendance and in “good” standing, receives a T-shirt that
says, "I got caught attending school." Not only that, students’ parents also are
recognized with a certificate acknowledging their efforts in making sure their
child does not miss school. The program
also has given away some free bicycles and bus passes to students in need – and
has shown promising results, with a 5 to 10 percent increase in attendance (Thompson,
2014).
Read more: http://www.kcra.com/politics/california-ag-promotes-bills-to-reduce-truancy/24904616#ixzz2w0xra2NP
I think this is an interesting concept and it has appeared to work for the school district, parents, and more importantly, students. A teacher cannot teach a child who is not at school.
Reference
Thompson, D. (10 Mar. 2014). California AG promotes bills to reduce
truancy. Retrieved from http://www.kcra.com/politics/california-ag-promotes-bills-to-reduce-truancy/24904616
I love the idea of issuing bus passes to students in need; in fact I would support the issuance of passes to all students. Transit systems all (New York the exception) run in the red and it cost no more to run a half full bus as it does to run a full one. On top of the benefit that students now have a cost effective means of transportation they also become conditioned to using public transportation a win for us all.
ReplyDeleteYep, it actually is a win for all of us. I agree with your assessment. Just about everywhere we turn today it is stressed how the impact fuel/carbon emissions are harming our climate. Issuing bus passes (free or at a reduced price) for all students and incorporating the benefits of using public transportation in subject content areas (i.e. earth sciences) can not gain significant opposition - or can it? Well, maybe school bus drivers may not like the idea.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I think California is doing a good thing by addressing this issue of school truancy.