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More than 200 more students were considered chronic truants in fall 2007 compared with the same period in the previous year.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - At the halfway point of the school year, San Francisco schools have seen a near 80 percent jump from last fall in the number of students who are chronically truant, despite a pledge by The City’s district attorney to get tough on parents who neglect their children’s education.
In October, District Attorney Kamala Harris vowed to prosecute parents of children who continuously missed school days without a note or phone call. But with nearly twice the amount of chronically truant students reported last fall from previous years, it appears as if parents aren’t listening and Harris isn’t prosecuting.
There were 528 students who missed 20 days of school between Sept. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1, according to the San Francisco Unified School District. That’s up from 294 for the same period in 2006 and 158 in 2005.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney, Erica Derryck, said Harris’ pledge was no idle threat, and there will be prosecutions as the school year moves forward. In order for that to happen, officials are bound by law to go through a seven-step process of notification, counseling and mediation. A parent could spend a year in county jail and face a fine up to $2,500 for neglecting a child’s education.
“Prosecution is the last step in a longer-term approach to getting children back in school,” she said. “The goal of this effort is not to lock parents up, but to change the behavior of parents and children that leads to truancy and chronic school absence.”
Truancies in San Francisco have long been above statewide averages and it costs the already cash-strapped district millions of dollars in state funding. Officials also cite the costs to crime and the dropout rate. According to the District Attorney’s Office, 75 percent of truants will drop out of high school and another 75 percent of the country’s inmates were habitual truants.
Kids aren’t just playing hooky either. The truancies are oftentimes the result of serious barriers, such as safety concerns or being too far behind to attend. Many parents of elementary-school-age children cite a lack of transportation and child care, as well as family crises as reasons for truancy, school district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe said.
Keith Choy from the Stay in School Coalition, a group of districts and city representatives, said he’s seeing more homeless families, which could explain this year’s spike. “This is more severe than I’ve seen in years,” he said. “Family needs are getting more severe and our supports at schools are not sufficient.”
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Examiner Reader said:
Lowell is in District 7, not District 4. Chu is calling for "legislation" to change SFUSD's enrollment process to factor in where you live as part of the process, but Chu doesn't even know that SFUSD already factors in address in the assignment process. Carmen Chu should read what the assignment system entails before trying to stir up angry parents in order to get elected to the seat she was appointed to by Newsom.
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Eric said:
This article dosen't surprise me, In King George County this last year after the SOL's the sixth grade math teacher said she didn't want to teach anymore and she didn't. It was movies and goof off for a several more weeks until school was out. In fact I can't even figure out what the sixth graders did to get grades the last few weeks of school after the SOL tests. Because I saw no homework or school work.
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Adam said:
It's good to see that in times like these, people can put it together. It is a travesty that public schools have to turn to private enterprise just to keep up with where they are supposed to be with our tax dollars to begin with. It really warms the heart to hear how people who care are standing up for the future of mankind.
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Examiner Reader said:
We see lots of cuts in education but what about California prisons? Are they laying off any prison guards? Let's see lack of education means less people qualified to find good jobs means more criminals means more prison guards.
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Carson said:
If the Revolutionaries in the government would have respected the will of, "We the People" and enacted Proposition 187 we may have avoided these problems.
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Examiner Reader said:
Student truancy is not always caused by the parents/family. Our family is not near homeless, not divorced or any other social reasons that may be common. My daughter began skipping her classes and when I found out and asked her why, she said "because it doesn't matter to anyone at school." She did it because it was easy and she wasn't being called on it. Since then, her school has a new attendance/tardy policy and whenever a student misses even one class, an automated system calls home and leaves a message to that fact. After coming home 3 days in a row and hearing that she was being reported, she realized that someone did care and that it was no longer going to be "easy" to get away with. During the past 3 weeks we have not had 1 call. While in some cases the family life may be the problem, the school administrators need to have procedures in place to combat the problem as well. I'm sure glad my daughter's school did!
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Examiner Reader said:
I know Zach! I went to Shiloh, and I graduated along with him. I hope he and everyone else are doing well at North Carroll. The best of luck to him, and his future!
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Examiner Reader said:
People of different relegious beliefs should watch PEACE channel where Dr.Zakir Naik refers from holy books of Christians,Jews,Muslims & Hindus for guidance on such issues
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