ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 13, 1996 TAG: 9610120015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
ROANOKE CITY schools Superintendent Wayne Harris deserves credit for the attention he's giving to fighting truancy. The problem has long cried out for attention.
Today, a truancy-prevention pilot program at three city schools is achieving good results. One of which: a recently awarded $385,000 federal grant to help expand the program into all elementary and middle schools during the next two years.
The federal financing is certainly welcome. But with or without the grant, the city must press on with this initiative. If anything, the task needs more emphasis: Combatting truancy isn't just a school imperative. It's a community imperative.
The link between truancy and social pathologies, such as increased juvenile crime and drug use, is one reason to get a handle on the problem. But just as important is the link to low academic performance and a high dropout rate - a terrible burden as life prospects and educational attainment pull into ever-closer correlation.
The community has made a big investment in its public schools, and it has a crucial interest in providing the best possible education for its children. That investment is devalued, and that interest thwarted, when kids skip school routinely, missing the education that is essential if they are to become productive participants in the community.
Last year, a whopping 34 percent of Roanoke's 13,000 public-school students missed more than 10 days of school. Many of those absences were for legitimate reasons, of course. But many were not.
Meantime, nearly 450 children missed 50 or more days. These numbers speak volumes about social danger and educational waste.
Against the abysmal statistics, it's nonetheless encouraging that 20 city schools recorded improvements in attendance - in part a reflection of Harris' pledge to hold each school accountable for truancy run amok.
And the really good news is the success of the pilot program, which - are we as a society getting it yet? - emphasizes prevention. The idea is to apply laser-beam focus on truancy-prone youngsters, bringing their parents, social-service workers, the juvenile court and other community resources into the process.
Results so far: The number of children missing more than 25 days at Fallon Park and Hurt Park elementary schools dropped from 106 to 26 last year. Jackson Middle School, which pioneered the approach, had a similar experience before it was closed for renovations. Hooray, at the very least, for paying attention to the numbers.
It is too soon, of course, to know if such success can be sustained and duplicated systemwide. But if it can, Harris and the city schools will have achieved a breakthrough.
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