ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke children have a new reason to go to school every day: It can be profitable.
Some students have won bicycles, $50 gift certificates and telephone answering machines this school year.
Others have won recognition for their perfect attendance. Their pictures have been displayed in school cafeterias and halls. Some schools have held dances and parties for students who don't miss a day for nine weeks.
It's all part of the city's effort to improve poor attendance.
Rita Bishop, assistant superintendent for instruction, told the School Board this week that attendance has improved during the first semester.
Roanoke has one of the worst attendance records in the state, ranking 124th out of 134 school divisions. In the last year, 40 percent of the 13,000 children in city schools were absent more than 10 days. Nearly 450 students missed 50 days or more.
Superintendent Wayne Harris has set a goal of reducing the number of students who miss more than 10 days by 10 percent a year for each of the next three years.
Principal Linda Bigger Brown said William Ruffner Middle School asked businesses to donate prizes for drawings to reward students with perfect attendance.
Nearly 350 students, about half of Ruffner's enrollment, did not miss a day during the first nine weeks of the school year, she said.
At Fallon Park Elementary, Principal Gerald McDearmon said the pictures of children with perfect attendance are displayed in the cafeteria. At Patrick Henry High, students who haven't missed a day are allowed to attend parties for honor roll students, said Principal Elizabeth Lee.
For students who aren't motivated by bicycles and other incentives, school officials are taking a different approach: They're calling the students' parents, visiting their homes and using support teams of teachers and counselors to work with them to improve attendance.
Each day at Patrick Henry, a computerized phone system calls the homes of all students who are absent to inform parents their child wasn't in school. After the roll is taken each morning, the attendance records are scanned into the computer, and calls are made automatically.
"A call is made on every student who is absent," Lee said. "What we are saying is that attendance is important to the school."
At all elementary schools, teachers make a home visit with parents or guardians after five unexcused absences to find out why the children are missing school and to offer assistance if needed.
Harris said student support teams - composed of principals, teachers, counselors and others - have been created at each city school to help improve attendance and deal with other student problems.
After students have 10 unexcused absences, the support teams investigate and work with other agencies, such as the Department of Social Services and Mental Health Services, to develop a plan for improving attendance.
In some cases, students are referred to community agencies for counseling. Others are referred to juvenile court officials, said Charles Kennedy, director of the school system's truancy project.
"We are working to catch kids before they start to slide - before they miss too many days and their grades go down too much," said Ann Harman, executive for student services.
School Board member John Saunders said he realizes that parents have primary responsibility for their children's attendance and performance in school, but he thinks the schools should try to help students who are headed for trouble.
"If we don't provide a safety net, who else will?" Saunders said. He asked Harman at Tuesday's School Board meeting if the schools have guidelines that trigger intervention.
Harman said each student is different and there are no triggering guidelines. "It depends on many factors," she said. "The teachers know their students, and they are the strongest safety net because they are committed to attendance."
Harris said the schools closely monitor the students. "In all honesty, we go so far sometimes that we almost assume the complete responsibilities of the parents."
Board member Melinda Payne said parents have to assume some responsibility for their children's attendance and behavior. "Too often, parents turn kids over to the schools and want us to do everything," she said.
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