The following are some suggestions for assessing truancy problems and related issues in your schools and communities:

• Look at school attendance records to see if unexcused absences are a big problem. Make sure to note if rates have changed over time. Have unexcused absences increased over the past few years? If so, what changes in the school and/or community may be influencing absenteeism among students?

• Consult with the local police department about rates of juvenile crime during school hours. If this is a problem, has it been getting worse or better over time? What measures are the police taking to address the problem, and how can you help?

• Find out how truancy cases are currently addressed in your community.

  • Are solid policies in place that seem well-suited to local conditions? If not, how can they be improved to better fit the reality facing youth in your community?

  • Are laws in place (i.e., curfews, fines, etc.)? If so, do the laws seem to be helpful or harmful? In other words, since the laws were enacted, how have truancy rates in your area changed?

• Learn about the transportation situation for students in your district and whether it poses a problem for some students.

• Think about extra steps your school could take to help kids who are frequently absent catch up on their schoolwork.

• Determine whether adequate after-school activities are available to students. If not, help get some programs started. Be sure to create options for a wide range of interests and skills, and market them to youth who are at risk for or currently displaying truant behavior. Also, make sure that after-school activities, including sports and clubs, are accessible to all youth. If costs seem potentially prohibitive (e.g., for uniforms), try to come up with creative solutions to help kids get and stay involved (e.g., ask local businesses to underwrite costs).

  Common Elements of Successful After-School Programs Goal setting and strong management Quality after-school staffing Low staff/student ratios Attention to safety, health, and nutrition issues Effective partnerships with community-based organizations, juvenile justice agencies, law enforcement, and youth groups Strong involvement of families Coordinating learning with the regular school day Linkages between school-day teachers and after-school personnel Evaluation of program progress and effectiveness

• Some students may be truant or dropping out of school because they need to work to help support their families. Make sure to explore the varied reasons behind truant behavior and that adequate and appropriate services are available to these families to help them consider different options that may allow students to complete their education.

• There are also many groups of young people who are not in school, but may not necessarily be considered officially truant. As you seek to assess and address the problem of truancy in your schools and communities, try to be inclusive and think through all possible groups of youth who may need help either connecting or reconnecting with school. For example, consider young people who are released from juvenile facilities. They are dropped from the rolls of the institution school on the day they are discharged; most are not enrolled in another school before leaving the facility. Also consider both legal and illegal immigrant youth who may not be enrolled in school.

To learn more about the Uniform Information Reporting and Management System, which represents a system with great potential for helping to assess and document truancy rates in schools and communities across the country, please review pages 34 through 36 of the following document: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community Act State Grants: Guidance for State and Local Implementation of Programs. When you are ready to return to this event, please click on your Internet browser's "back" button or hit the "backspace" button on your keyboard.

From:

Join Together Online. (January 1998). Keeping kids in school. Boston, MA: Author.