Post by Modesto Anarcho on Sept 7, 2007 22:19:27 GMT -5
Schools look to tackle truancy: Policy tries to hit home
By Jeff Hudson/Enterprise staff writer
Published Sep 07, 2007 - 13:51:22 CDT.
The Davis school board discussed “truancy sweeps” on Thursday night - including some recent changes in truancy policy involving the Davis Police Department - that raised a note of caution from trustees Tim Taylor and Jim Provenza and words of concern from student representative Amanda López-Lara.
The truancy policy was laid out by Pam Mari, director of student services. Families who have a student who is frequently truant (meaning tardy or absent) will receive a letter, followed by a second letter and then a third.
The next steps are the new portion the district's truancy effort. If the student's attendance does not improve, there will be a home visit by one or two members of the Davis Police Department, along with a school district representative, typically a vice principal.
Mari said these home visits “had an amazing effect” when the school district and the Police Department tried them last spring. “Some of the students seemed to just wake up, realize they had to be there (in school),” she said.
Police also may stop truant students on the street. Students who continue to be truant could lose their driver's license, or not be able to get one.
Mari said that in the past, “There hasn't been a lot of success in establishing a multiagency resource (to deal with truancy). But that changed last spring, when the Davis Police Department decided we could take a step together.”
Mari said some parents were surprised to find their son or daughter has been truant.
“We need to make person-to-person contact with the student and the family,” she said.
Mari, who served for many years as a vice principal at Davis High School, described her experience running a Saturday school program for students with poor attendance.
“What I learned was that there wasn't a single Saturday school student who was simply truant,” she said. “But as long as they didn't come to school, we did know what their (other) needs were.”
She added that “detention (after school), frankly, simply is not a deterrent for most kids. I don't think you can punish anyone into learning, or wanting to be at school.”
Mari described truant students as “at risk, in danger of losing their credits, losing a way to graduate.”
“What is non-negotiable is that attendance is the law, and truancy is against the law,” Mari said.
She said a student typically will accumulate 20 or so cut classes or tardies before the policy kicks in.
Provenza asked, “Is there a memorandum of understanding (between the district and the police) that sets forth these procedures?”
“We didn't think we needed that, since it's virtually laid out in the ed code,” Mari replied.
Provenza said, “We don't want the fact that you're high school age to mean ‘OK, you're going to get stopped by the police.' ”
Mari said the police do not have the resources to do that. She said the truancy sweeps will focus on 15 or 20 students known to have poor attendance at school.
“Jim's point is that a student shouldn't be stopped if they're going to the bank (during a free period),” Taylor said. “The problem is being stopped in the first place. I have a huge concern about it. I fully support stopping truancy, but there are limits.”
Added López-Lara, a student at Davis High, said “(Thursday) was the first day that students were told of these (new) rules. And today, the whole high school was scared. ... I don't think I've ever seen that many cop cars at the high school. Students were getting pulled over. A lot of students said afterwards they were feeling very nervous.
“Relations are already strained between students and police officers,” López-Lara said.
She praised the work of school-community liaison Marc Hicks, saying students feel they can talk with him. But seeing so many uniformed officers near the campus on Thursday concerned López-Lara.
“There are students who, once they feel apprehensive, they don't want to listen, they just want to act out,” she said. “I know many students who are just going to want to rebel.”
Taylor said “there's a very fine line between ensuring compliance and intimidation.”
The presence of police officers near DHS on Thursday apparently was unrelated to the truancy policy, Principal Mike Cawley said. Officers were dealing with an incident involving marijuana possession in nearby Community Park.
Trustee Keltie Jones took a different view than Taylor and Provenza. Jones said she thinks the new truancy policy is “a well thought-out, detailed administrative approach. ... This is much more focused than a ‘general sweep' approach. This is not about students going to the bank at lunchtime, this is about students not showing up for school on a consistent basis.
“These are students we are losing. If we can talk to them and find out their needs, this is worth doing.”
But activist/commentator David Greenwald, who blogs for the Davis Vanguard, said “the frequent complaint of high school students is that students of color are singled out” by law enforcement. “(And) this policy was put in place first. We're having this conversation second,” Greenwald added.
Mari suggested that “if the word ‘sweep' was eliminated, and ‘home visit' was used,” there might be fewer concerns. “We're not talking about a huge endeavor. We're talking about a Davis High School vice principal devoting two hours” out of a busy day to visit a truant student's home.
Taylor said while the truancy policy may be what the law allows, “it may not be the best fit” for the community, and asked that the matter be put on the agenda for discussion at the next “two-by-two” meeting of school district and city government officials. Provenza agreed.
- Reach Jeff Hudson at jhudson@davisenterprise.net or 747-8055.
By Jeff Hudson/Enterprise staff writer
Published Sep 07, 2007 - 13:51:22 CDT.
The Davis school board discussed “truancy sweeps” on Thursday night - including some recent changes in truancy policy involving the Davis Police Department - that raised a note of caution from trustees Tim Taylor and Jim Provenza and words of concern from student representative Amanda López-Lara.
The truancy policy was laid out by Pam Mari, director of student services. Families who have a student who is frequently truant (meaning tardy or absent) will receive a letter, followed by a second letter and then a third.
The next steps are the new portion the district's truancy effort. If the student's attendance does not improve, there will be a home visit by one or two members of the Davis Police Department, along with a school district representative, typically a vice principal.
Mari said these home visits “had an amazing effect” when the school district and the Police Department tried them last spring. “Some of the students seemed to just wake up, realize they had to be there (in school),” she said.
Police also may stop truant students on the street. Students who continue to be truant could lose their driver's license, or not be able to get one.
Mari said that in the past, “There hasn't been a lot of success in establishing a multiagency resource (to deal with truancy). But that changed last spring, when the Davis Police Department decided we could take a step together.”
Mari said some parents were surprised to find their son or daughter has been truant.
“We need to make person-to-person contact with the student and the family,” she said.
Mari, who served for many years as a vice principal at Davis High School, described her experience running a Saturday school program for students with poor attendance.
“What I learned was that there wasn't a single Saturday school student who was simply truant,” she said. “But as long as they didn't come to school, we did know what their (other) needs were.”
She added that “detention (after school), frankly, simply is not a deterrent for most kids. I don't think you can punish anyone into learning, or wanting to be at school.”
Mari described truant students as “at risk, in danger of losing their credits, losing a way to graduate.”
“What is non-negotiable is that attendance is the law, and truancy is against the law,” Mari said.
She said a student typically will accumulate 20 or so cut classes or tardies before the policy kicks in.
Provenza asked, “Is there a memorandum of understanding (between the district and the police) that sets forth these procedures?”
“We didn't think we needed that, since it's virtually laid out in the ed code,” Mari replied.
Provenza said, “We don't want the fact that you're high school age to mean ‘OK, you're going to get stopped by the police.' ”
Mari said the police do not have the resources to do that. She said the truancy sweeps will focus on 15 or 20 students known to have poor attendance at school.
“Jim's point is that a student shouldn't be stopped if they're going to the bank (during a free period),” Taylor said. “The problem is being stopped in the first place. I have a huge concern about it. I fully support stopping truancy, but there are limits.”
Added López-Lara, a student at Davis High, said “(Thursday) was the first day that students were told of these (new) rules. And today, the whole high school was scared. ... I don't think I've ever seen that many cop cars at the high school. Students were getting pulled over. A lot of students said afterwards they were feeling very nervous.
“Relations are already strained between students and police officers,” López-Lara said.
She praised the work of school-community liaison Marc Hicks, saying students feel they can talk with him. But seeing so many uniformed officers near the campus on Thursday concerned López-Lara.
“There are students who, once they feel apprehensive, they don't want to listen, they just want to act out,” she said. “I know many students who are just going to want to rebel.”
Taylor said “there's a very fine line between ensuring compliance and intimidation.”
The presence of police officers near DHS on Thursday apparently was unrelated to the truancy policy, Principal Mike Cawley said. Officers were dealing with an incident involving marijuana possession in nearby Community Park.
Trustee Keltie Jones took a different view than Taylor and Provenza. Jones said she thinks the new truancy policy is “a well thought-out, detailed administrative approach. ... This is much more focused than a ‘general sweep' approach. This is not about students going to the bank at lunchtime, this is about students not showing up for school on a consistent basis.
“These are students we are losing. If we can talk to them and find out their needs, this is worth doing.”
But activist/commentator David Greenwald, who blogs for the Davis Vanguard, said “the frequent complaint of high school students is that students of color are singled out” by law enforcement. “(And) this policy was put in place first. We're having this conversation second,” Greenwald added.
Mari suggested that “if the word ‘sweep' was eliminated, and ‘home visit' was used,” there might be fewer concerns. “We're not talking about a huge endeavor. We're talking about a Davis High School vice principal devoting two hours” out of a busy day to visit a truant student's home.
Taylor said while the truancy policy may be what the law allows, “it may not be the best fit” for the community, and asked that the matter be put on the agenda for discussion at the next “two-by-two” meeting of school district and city government officials. Provenza agreed.
- Reach Jeff Hudson at jhudson@davisenterprise.net or 747-8055.