Rochester Mayor Tom Richards is proposing that the city
kick-in $15,000 to support the school district’s new initiative to battle chronic
truancy. That would be matched by $15,000 from the school district, and $10,000
from United Way. City Council will begin vetting the proposal next week.
Poor attendance and high truancy rates are widely believed
to play a role in the district’s consistently low graduation rate. Many
students miss so much instruction that they cannot perform at grade level in
core subjects without remedial help, but addressing
the problem has been difficult.
The district is working with Program Design and Development,
a consulting firm to public schools and municipalities, and Karl Bertrand on
the new truancy program. Bertrand developed what is known as the “Yonkers
Model,” a comprehensive approach to chronic truancy that involves agencies
outside the school district — including the city and the United Way.
The legislation proposed by Richards says that PDD will
assist with developing “a formal educational neglect reporting process” with
the Monroe County Department of Human Services, identifying community resources
for chronic truants and their families, developing a formal “truancy response
protocol,” for school personnel, and other tasks.
District and city officials will meet later today to discuss
the next steps for the truancy program.
This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2012.
