Re: [A yucky bit from the NYT
Thomas F. Kuykendall
My favorite part of this:
"And because her own children are sometimes less than enthusiastic about
school, she understands how some parents have trouble making sure theirs
go to class."
As in, "I don't care if you don't like school, you will go to school and
like it!" I wounder if this lady considers later in life how her children
will act towards her. "I don't care if you don't like this retirement
home, you will live here and like it!" I guess talking to her children to
find out why they don't want to go never crossed her mind.
Tom K.
Message: 9
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 11:41:22 -0700
From: Deborah Lewis <ddzimlew@...>
Subject: A yucky bit from the NYT
I was just at Yahoo groups and it says there are 324 members on this
list. As Dylan would say, "Holy Buckets!"
But anyway...
January 30, 2003
Philadelphia Recruits and Trains Parents as Truant Officers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HILADELPHIA, Jan. 29 � In an effort to corral thousands of
class-cutting
students, the Philadelphia school district hired 250 truant officers
late
last year.
Among its hiring criteria for the job, one element loomed most
important:
the district specifically recruited parents.
"Parents know the terrain, know the environment, understand the culture
and may even know some of the individual parents and kids," said Paul
Vallas, chief executive of the 200,000-student school system.
Truancy is a big concern in Philadelphia. On any given day, more than
12,000 Philadelphia students, or 6.4 percent, are absent without an
excuse.
The problem worries school officials because truants are more likely to
use drugs, join gangs, commit crimes or drop out.
"Truancy is our first best flag that a kid will enter the juvenile
justice system," said Ken Seeley, who is studying the effectiveness of
seven truancy reduction programs for the Justice Department.
Mr. Vallas hired 600 parents for a similar program in Chicago, where he
headed the school system for six years. He said the program cut truancy
to 3.9 percent from 5.7 percent.
Philadelphia contracted with 12 community and religious organizations
to
hire and train parent-truant officers. The training began last month;
so
far, 166 parents have gone through the program and started visiting the
homes of truants. The officers are paid $9 an hour for at least 10
hours
a week.
"The primary role is to inform parents that their child has been
truant,
that resources are available, that we are ready to help," said Vern
Trent, who heads the program.
While it is too soon to tell whether the $1.2 million program is
working,
the officers had more than 1,600 contacts with parents through Dec. 31.
Some parents are unaware that their children are cutting class. Others
cannot afford clothes or bus tokens. Others are on drugs or alcohol.
Hastings Coach, who heads the parent-truant officer program for the
Women's Association for Women's Alternatives, a social services agency,
said officers were told to be supportive and understanding, not
threatening.
"Any time you're in someone's home, you're a guest and you have to
conduct yourself accordingly. You're not some authority with a stiff
hand. You want to be invited back," Mr. Coach said.
But officers also explain that chronic absenteeism could land both
students and their parents in the truancy court, with the possibility
of
fines, community service and even jail for the adults and transfer to
an
alternative school for the pupils.
That is smart, Mr. Seeley said, because any successful
truancy-reduction
program needs to have both carrots and sticks. In Jacksonville, Fla.,
one
of the programs he is studying, more than 100 parents have been
arrested
for failing to send their children to school.
Jennifer Jones, 42, whose children are 6, 16 and 19, said
Philadelphia's
truancy program was a natural fit for her. Her house is a magnet for
neighborhood children; she has been known to break up fistfights; even
before she became a truant officer, she confronted truants and ordered
them to go back to school.
And because her own children are sometimes less than enthusiastic about
school, she understands how some parents have trouble making sure
theirs
go to class.
"I think people feel more comfortable dealing with another parent," Ms.
Jones said. "Parents know what kids are capable of, how their minds
work."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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"And because her own children are sometimes less than enthusiastic about
school, she understands how some parents have trouble making sure theirs
go to class."
As in, "I don't care if you don't like school, you will go to school and
like it!" I wounder if this lady considers later in life how her children
will act towards her. "I don't care if you don't like this retirement
home, you will live here and like it!" I guess talking to her children to
find out why they don't want to go never crossed her mind.
Tom K.
Message: 9
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 11:41:22 -0700
From: Deborah Lewis <ddzimlew@...>
Subject: A yucky bit from the NYT
I was just at Yahoo groups and it says there are 324 members on this
list. As Dylan would say, "Holy Buckets!"
But anyway...
January 30, 2003
Philadelphia Recruits and Trains Parents as Truant Officers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HILADELPHIA, Jan. 29 � In an effort to corral thousands of
class-cutting
students, the Philadelphia school district hired 250 truant officers
late
last year.
Among its hiring criteria for the job, one element loomed most
important:
the district specifically recruited parents.
"Parents know the terrain, know the environment, understand the culture
and may even know some of the individual parents and kids," said Paul
Vallas, chief executive of the 200,000-student school system.
Truancy is a big concern in Philadelphia. On any given day, more than
12,000 Philadelphia students, or 6.4 percent, are absent without an
excuse.
The problem worries school officials because truants are more likely to
use drugs, join gangs, commit crimes or drop out.
"Truancy is our first best flag that a kid will enter the juvenile
justice system," said Ken Seeley, who is studying the effectiveness of
seven truancy reduction programs for the Justice Department.
Mr. Vallas hired 600 parents for a similar program in Chicago, where he
headed the school system for six years. He said the program cut truancy
to 3.9 percent from 5.7 percent.
Philadelphia contracted with 12 community and religious organizations
to
hire and train parent-truant officers. The training began last month;
so
far, 166 parents have gone through the program and started visiting the
homes of truants. The officers are paid $9 an hour for at least 10
hours
a week.
"The primary role is to inform parents that their child has been
truant,
that resources are available, that we are ready to help," said Vern
Trent, who heads the program.
While it is too soon to tell whether the $1.2 million program is
working,
the officers had more than 1,600 contacts with parents through Dec. 31.
Some parents are unaware that their children are cutting class. Others
cannot afford clothes or bus tokens. Others are on drugs or alcohol.
Hastings Coach, who heads the parent-truant officer program for the
Women's Association for Women's Alternatives, a social services agency,
said officers were told to be supportive and understanding, not
threatening.
"Any time you're in someone's home, you're a guest and you have to
conduct yourself accordingly. You're not some authority with a stiff
hand. You want to be invited back," Mr. Coach said.
But officers also explain that chronic absenteeism could land both
students and their parents in the truancy court, with the possibility
of
fines, community service and even jail for the adults and transfer to
an
alternative school for the pupils.
That is smart, Mr. Seeley said, because any successful
truancy-reduction
program needs to have both carrots and sticks. In Jacksonville, Fla.,
one
of the programs he is studying, more than 100 parents have been
arrested
for failing to send their children to school.
Jennifer Jones, 42, whose children are 6, 16 and 19, said
Philadelphia's
truancy program was a natural fit for her. Her house is a magnet for
neighborhood children; she has been known to break up fistfights; even
before she became a truant officer, she confronted truants and ordered
them to go back to school.
And because her own children are sometimes less than enthusiastic about
school, she understands how some parents have trouble making sure
theirs
go to class.
"I think people feel more comfortable dealing with another parent," Ms.
Jones said. "Parents know what kids are capable of, how their minds
work."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com