|
Figuring Out School Truancy
Research shows that children who attend school regularly are likely to be more successful. A pupil who misses a day of school a week misses an equivalent of two whole years in their school life. This obviously leads to gaps in their knowledge that become difficult to fill. A recent survey has indicated that more than 70% of children who did not attend school regularly admitted to committing at least one criminal offence. Responsibilities of parents and carers regarding truancy Children registered at a school must attend regularly. Truancy prevention is a national challenge. In some geographic and ethnic segments of the population, drop out rates approach 20%. Comprehensive truancy prevention programs must include ways to vividly show the consequences of truancy. Youth and teens may hear you and their teachers say it over and over again, but at the age of 13 or 14, it is hard to grasp the concept of the rest of their lives. When you are so young and have experienced so little, it can be challenging trying to imagine how a decision you make now will affect you 10 years from now. Once teens see the value of school, in the context of their own lives, truancy rates decline. Plus, teens develop new skills and confidence that they can achieve the lives they want, further reducing truancy.
Most kids, even those who come from strong family units with professional parents, often wonder at one time or another why school is so important. This can be a conversation you have over and over again with your child, yet you may still feel stumped for an answer. Telling your child that he or she just has to go to school, end of story, and leaves room for argument. In some cases, the truancy problem will continue unless some type of intervention takes place. Nipping truancy in the bud requires discussing truancy with teens before it even becomes a problem. From day one, talking with your kids about the importance of school and a solid education can help ward off school truancy problems later. However, this may not be enough and you may need to take some additional steps. What the Law Says If the parents or guardians make every effort to see that the child attends school but the child refuses, the child may be found responsible for his/her actions on the basis of being "repeatedly disobedient to the reasonable and lawful commands of his/her parents" or he/she "habitually idles away his time." If the child does attend school but violates the school's rules and regulations he/she is disobeying the Compulsory Education Law. School board has the responsibility for seeing that child attends school and exhibit good behavior while there. It appoints an attendance officer to investigate why child missing school or misbehaving in school. It is his/her job to find out the reasons for such actions, notify parents or guardian of his/her concern and confer with them and the school staff in an effort to resolve your problems. If these efforts are unsuccessful, the attendance officer may refer you and your parents or guardian to Court. If absence or misbehavior is willful, the attendance officer will refer to Court. If your absence is due to a parent or guardian's failure to send a child to school, the attendance officer will refer them to Court. Experts say there are things parents can do to keep their children in school, including: • Make sure your child attends school regularly and on time. • Contact the school on the first day of absence if unwell and send a note of explanation on return. • Ensure you are aware of school rules. • Seek headteacher's permission in advance to take your child out of school during term time. • Show an interest in your child's education and progress, attend parent's evenings. • Focus on student goals • Encourage school involvement • Consider alternative school settings • Consider realistic post-secondary goals • Identify special needs Some unacceptable reasons for absence: • shopping • birthday treats and trips • looking after others at home • non-urgent medical or dental appointments The bottom line is improving the educational achievement of America's youth is important to the individual and the nation's prosperity. The bottom line is improving the educational achievement of America's youth is important to the individual and the nation's prosperity.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
