Measures For Lowering The Rate Of Truancy In Public Schools

In the modern world, there are so many young generations lack of high quality education in the U.S., and there are multiple elements to cause this happened. Truancy is one of the most typical reasons for this matter. According to the International School of Louisiana policy, TRUANCY is defined as any student having either five unexcused tarries or five unexcused absences within a school semester per RS17:233. If students can focus on their studies and do not do any truancy behaviors, that will be very beneficial for student development and educational culture of a country. It means that having a perfect attendance rate can not only help students themselves, but also can have positive effects to the entire education area. For this serious matter, the goal of this study is how to address Truancy rates in New Orlean's Public schools, such as decrease truancy in NOLA public schools from 25% to 20%.

New Orlean's Public School District is comprised of 78 schools - 52 elementary, 20 high schools, and 6 combinations. Currently, truancy rates among NOLA Public Schools are at 25%, 5% above the U.S. national average of 20 %. The basis of our project is to encourage student attendance in schools, as higher attendance affords increased chances to learn and advance academically. Drawing from strategic plans and strategies of other large, urban school districts across the United States, we hope to give inspiration for improvement of NOLA Public School strategies to help curb this issue. School based intervention to start with, is a strategy for success. Schools can reward attendance of students and also encourage peer counseling especially in group sessions with other truant youth. Relationship-building is also a school based intervention. It is important to give individual attention to a student while at school (this can be the reason as to why less populated schools have few absenteeism cases.) in order to create a mutual connection built on respect and trust. Good relationships should also be created between a student and teachers and with all the people around. Besides, from research findings, it was discovered that a youth needs to be connected to peer groups as it can be a motivating factor to attend school.

Community based intervention is another strategy of success. It is significant to enlist the help of community partners and organizations. Data collected by the Data Center from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that, New Orleans had a 39% poverty rate in 2013, and 58% of these children were living in a single parent, specifically single-mother, household. This data can be tied directly to truancy rates in the city. Parent support groups and home visits are key factors in this intervention strategy.

The school atmosphere and culture is a key factor too. Based off of our research and personal experiences as students, we believe students’ attitude towards school plays a role in their general attendance. In the working world, no adult desires to slave over work they don't believe is beneficial to them and their future, especially in an environment that is not encouraging and uplifting. The same is true for students of all ages. However, many parents and teachers often times, educators misidentify this attitude. Extracurricular activities should also be encouraged at school.

In conclusion, according to the research, mentoring programs like offering guidance and support, staff - student relationship, truancy courts and consistent procedures are some of the factors that have come up. According to our work, a truancy reduction strategy requires an integral approach that incorporates both the school based and community interventions. Courts are involved especially in circumstances that require an individual to participate in diversion programs. Furthermore, much of our research work has dealt with factors that can motivate a student shun absenteeism.

References

• Lawrence, S. A., Lawther, W., Jennison, V., & Hightower, P. (2011). An evaluation of the early truancy intervention (ETI) program. School Social Work Journal, 35(2), 57-71.
• Rohrman, D. (2013). Combating truancy in our schools—a community effort. NASSP Bulletin, 77(549), 40-45.