By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor
A resolution to support a countywide initiative to combat chronic absenteeism will be revisited Thursday by the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees.
At the board’s last meeting on Aug. 15, Superintendent Janice Adams, in asking for approval of Resolution 13-14-02, told the board that one of the biggest indicators of students having difficulty later in school “is chronic absenteeism in early grades. Those patterns are established as early as preschool.”
Adams said she and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michael Gardner met with Solano County District Attorney Donald A. du Bain to work on addressing truancy at the elementary school level. “He’s been very supportive of efforts to reduce truancy in our older students, and to cite parents who don’t get their kids to school,” she said. “So there’s that end of it, but more importantly there’s an educational end.”
But Trustee Peter Morgan had questions about enforcement of the resolution, and trustees agreed to table the matter until they could get clarification on measures the district would take on the issue.
“Benicia Unified School District has begun a two-pronged approach to reducing absenteeism,” Adams wrote in a new report to the board. “We are participating in a proactive program called ‘Every Minute Matters’ in coordination with the County Office of Education which focuses on parent education.
“In addition we are working with the Solano County District Attorney through our School Attendance and Review Board (SARB) to reduce truancy in BUSD,” she wrote, urging the board to adopt the resolution. “We are actively monitoring attendance rates to evaluate the effectiveness of our efforts.”
The “Every Minute Matters” campaign is designed to provide communication resources to schools, engage school communities and boost student attendance as soon as children enter school, according to the Solano County Office of Education website.
In other business, Adams will ask the board to approve support for Benicia Tree Foundation tree planting projects at Benicia Middle School and Benicia High.
The foundation has collaborated with the school district in tree planting projects at Benicia High, with 80 trees in 2011; at Joe Henderson Elementary, with 80 trees in 2012; and at Robert Semple Elementary, with 80 trees planted in 2013.
“The foundation is interested in continuing the process of foresting BUSD by planting trees at Benicia High School and Benicia Middle School,” Adams wrote.
“These efforts align with the key goals in several citywide initiatives including the Benicia Climate Action Plan, the BUSD Wellness Plan, and the Benicia Stormwater Management Plan.”
If You Go
The BUSD Board of Trustees will meet Thursday in a closed session at 6 p.m. and open session at 7 p.m. in the BUSD board room, 350 East K St.
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Holding parents accountable is very important in the early grades. As the students move up in grade, though, the situation needs to be examined more fully to identify the underlying causes of absenteeism and the best approaches taken. That may mean focusing on the student, parent, teachers or a combination of them to find a workable solution.
There needs to be support services for parents who are having trouble getting their children to school. We cannot use a solely punitive approach. Van pools, buses, reminders, and buddy systems need are a few examples of what needs to be in place.
There needs to be fair and open accountability for the actions of staff, teachers, and administrators in creating a safe and encouraging academic environment. I was verbally abused and bullied by two teachers in high school for being poor which often meant lacking supplies, being late due to unexpectedly needing to walk to school, and wearing worn out clothing. If it were not for a few good teachers pushing me I might have started skipping school to avoid being hurt. I went on to earn a Masters degree and graduated with honors. We need to find those key teachers both good and bad then do what is necessary.
Students need to be held accountable for their own choices, keeping in mind that teens and tween by their very nature have volatile still evolving personalities. This may mean counseling against peer pressure, judicial interventions, support for supplies and clothing, tutoring, modified academic environments, and after-school programs that provide over all support for their academic progress. Students should be given a proactive role in improving their own academic experiences with student governments, methods to provide for suggestions and to communicate grievances, and other such forums where they can discuss their needs and ways found to address them.
We need to look at the whole situation with no assumptions and focus on both individual and global methods to improve student attendance.