Elk Grove Educators Trying New Strategies To Battle Truancy 'Crisis'
By Kelly Ryan
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - Attorney General Kamala Harris released a troubling report that claims more than one in five elementary school students had three or more unexcused absences last school year and nearly a quarter-million missed at least 10 percent of their class days.
Harris is calling it a crisis, and warns that if the problem is not fixed, the state could suffer dire consequences. Persistent truancy problems are a thorn in the side of school districts. Students lose out on learning and it's costly because the districts lose funding when student attendance drops.
State superintendent of public instruction Tom Torlakson tells CBS13, "Students who missed too much school fall behind struggle socially and are more likely to drop out."
So what can school districts do to solve the problem?
Elk Grove Unified School District is one of the largest school districts in the state.
"At the elementary school level our average truancy has been about 27% for the year 2014 and 15," says Elk Grove Unified School District Xanthi Pinkerton.
With a truancy rate just above the state average of more than 23 percent, Elk Grove Unified is trying new approaches.
"We definitely want to improve those numbers," said Pinkerton.
A new attendance improvement office will soon open with an outreach effort to parents and students.
"Through attendance campaigns, through developing public service announcements, through school leadership," said Pinkerton
The focus, they say, will be on outreach education and figuring out what may be causing the truancy and how they can help.
Camille Maben, executive director of First 5 California says the outreach will help parents see the difference a consistent routine can make in young children.
"We want to help parents understand that starting children with good habits can ensure them the education they need," said Maben.
