Cracking Down on Truant Students

Campus Police and school social workers were busy hitting the streets and knocking on doors today, all in an effort to tackle truancy.
 
Check these numbers out. In the 2005-06 school year, 25% of students were truant. Last year, 13% skipped while so far this year, the number is down to 3%
 
“Some parents may know and some parents may not know because children sometimes skip school, but this certainly gives them the opportunity to be aware of what's happening in our school and let them know specifically what's going on with their children.” Explains Dr. Quentina Miller-Fields, the Senior Director of Pupil Personnel for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.
 
“There is a compulsory attendance law and these children need to be in school for a lot of reasons not only for their education but when they're not in school they're usually involved in something they shouldn't be involved in and it impacts the community.” Explains Captain Joan Sasser of the Campus Police Department.
 
Today, 3 On Your Side Education Reporter, Randi Hempel rode along as a school resource officer and social worker made house calls.
 
Campus Police Officer, Gregory Milton and school social worker, Chequeta Riles are one of the 13 pairs hitting the streets, tracking down truant students.
 
“He's checking now, calling the school to find out if the kids showed up today for school.” Chequeta Riles, School Social Worker, explains the process.
 
Some of the skipping students are getting smart.
 
“We have some house that the parents have gone, they've gone to work and the kids are staying behind and they're telling their friends to come and they're charging them to stay and come to the house and stay, so they're making a profit instead of being productive and challenging that entrepreneurship into something else, that's what they're doing.” Riles details what students are doing.
 
“She's not here, she didn't report to first block so.” Officer Milton just got off the phone with a school.
 
They head to house after house after house. One student has a medical excuse. Another, mom's taking him to school now.
 
And then there's the 15 year old Savannah High student who is already on probation for being truant.
 
“The resident refused to answer the door, we know they're home, as I pulled up, I saw they were peeping out of the window.” Adds Officer Milton. (There are also 3 cars in the driveway.)
 
They don't give up. Calls begin, first to grandma.
 
“She's enrolled in school and has not shown up since.” Riles explains the situation to grandma.
   
Then mom, who grandma says is home she didn't answer.
 
“She's 15. The law states you've got to go to school. So I'll file again in Juvenile Court and I may be looking at trying to press charges against the mom.” Comments Riles. 
 
“Cause mom was home?” I ask.
“Cause mom was home, it seems like she's condoning it.”
 
Riles says that means both will be heading to jail.

Today was one of four truancy sweeps done throughout the year. Two of the sweeps are done in conjuction with Savannah-Chatham Metro Police.
 
They combat truancy in other ways too; meeting on a monthly and weekly basis and are using the new parent notification system to contact parents of absent students.
 
Both Milton and Riles urge parents to contact the school if their addresses or phone numbers have changed so they can be reached in an emergency.