How to Resolve Truancy Issues in the Schools
Charleston County has had a few rough weeks at school. Over 3500 students did not report to school the first week or so. I suspect other School District may have had the same kind of start.There are no easy answers. The Charleston administration appealed to parents to help with the situation. It got worse instead of better.Having been an educator for over 29 years now, I have seen many students who are just not motivated…they feel no one really cares, and they have others outside of school that seem to care about them much more…even though they have nothing to do with school most of the time and do little to be positive influences on the truant students. Some are in such poor families they can barely survive. Others are in such wealthy families that are over committed to the point where no one seems to be willing to take time with them. They often feel unloved and uncared for.None of these are excuses for failure … however, there are things that I’ve seen make a difference.There are many things we can do as parents to work with students.We must take our job seriously and work with our children effectively. However, sometimes parents need help and there are many things they need schools to do to help.
My first two thoughts regarding a solution to the truancy problem (and many other school problems) are these.Most importantly, administration should be held accountable for assuring that every teacher and staff in their school projects that they are anxious and willing to make a difference in every child’s life they come in contact with during the school day. No more negative, short, unhappy, self serving, uncaring attitudes (believe me, they are there). If a faculty or staff member does not have a goal of assuring that EVERY student succeeds, then interventions should occur quickly.  If a faculty or staff member is having a hard time with this, there should be interventions put in place with plans for a review within a month…and every month after that until the issue is resolved OR the staff member leaves. We simply can not afford to have negative staff among us during these critical times in our schools. We must have a “can do” attitude from each staff member at every school if we are to help all children succeed. That includes instruction and support that focuses on learning and caring about each individual child.
Secondly, schools should find a mentor for EVERY child in a school…starting with the ones that need it the most…and I mean EVERY ONE of the students…..starting with high school and working down…as fast as possible. They should assure SLED background checks and mentor training for each with a minimum contact of 30 minutes a week…with additional follow-up if possible. Many businesses out there are willing for their staff to take one hour a week to do this sort of thing. Many are just waiting to be asked to put something like this in place.
My wish for you today is that you become part of the solution instead of complaining about administration. I see many complain and few take action. Be one of those that step up to the base as a positive staff member or volunteer mentor and see what a real difference it makes.~Joellen
Consider these possibilities of you are passionate about helping out.
What can a parent do in this situation?
1. maintain support of your child in a positive way
2. make sure you are knowledgeable about the situation – call, conference, visit
3. consider all your options when you are in a difficult situation
4. after gathering all the info and looking at all the options – make a decision that is right for your child…this is THE MOST important consideration in the equation.
5. consider becoming a volunteer/mentor to another student at the local school. There are MANY students/staff who could use your help. Make sure you are aware you have to clear a SLED check first.
What can a teacher do in this situation?
1. Make sure you are in the profession for all the right reasons
2. get help if you are not the exceptional teacher you want to be
3. discuss weaknesses and be willing to deal with them without getting defensive.
4. if you do not want to be an exceptional teacher, ask you administrator or human resources officer to help you exit the profession as quickly as possible. The children deserve it and you deserve to be in a profession you are happy in.Â
What can an administrator do in this situation?
1. If you have a teacher who is not performing the way you need for him/her to do, sit down with that teacher, discover what is keeping that teacher from succeeding to engage all students successfully, make a plan for short term, offer support/resources to assist in the transition, visit and observe often, and meet frequently until the issue(s) has been resolved.
2. If you have parents complaining, listen, understand, strategize with parent, do not make excuses, tell the parent what you are doing to help make the situation better and follow-up with the parent to see how things are going once changes are in place.
3. Make sure you give that staff member LOTS of support for change in a positive way.Â
4. Make sure you take action if the teacher is not making changes effectively after the period of time you agree on and do not be afraid to take necessary action to assure maximum successes for the students in that class.Â
5. Assure your school/district has an effective mentoring program and match students who need extra help with a caring adult who can give at LEAST one hour per week to visit and support his or her mentee.
What can a Business do to help?
1. Consider the gifts, talents and resources of your organization. Could you use any of those to support your school/district in their efforts to educate your future workforce? If so…
2. Get involved in schools as a volunteer. If you are a large organization, offer to let your staff go to a school district volunteer training program and volunteer one hour a week from their schedule. Prepare some type of short accountability process with school or in your business so staff lets you know, in writing, how their efforts are going. Make sure you are aware that all volunteers must clear a SLED check first.
3.. Support faithful and productive staff that wants to volunteer at schools on a regular basis. Ask them to tell others of their experience during staffings/meetings.Â
4. When you see or hear of a need you can financially contribute to, do so. Most school districts have 501c3 organizations you can run that money through for special projects.
What can a Volunteer do to help?Â
1. Consider your gifts and talents and how you could use them in a school setting.
2. If you have some time on a regular basis to volunteer, offer to do so at your local school. Make sure you are aware you must have a clean SLED check in order to be a school volunteer.
3. Consider being a mentor. Â If you are willing, complete the training and keep your school contact updated on your progress. You should expect to complete a brief report on your efforts at least monthly.
4. Invite others you know that are seniors, retirees, etc to come volunteer as well. Offer to pick them up and to schedule your weekly work together.Â