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After reading the Nov. 28 Metro article “Virginia schools tackle truancy,” I was reminded of the more than 20 years I worked to address chronic absenteeism in Montgomery County Public Schools as a school counselor, pupil personnel worker and counselor supervisor. I believe that broadly reminding parents of the importance of school attendance is likely to be of little value for those students whose absenteeism has been significant.
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In my experience, for many — indeed, for most — of the students who were chronically absent, severe attendance problems were a result of significant family challenges. One high school student stayed home because she was the only caretaker for her severely disabled mother. Another babysat for younger siblings, as his family could not afford day care. An extremely talented ninth-grader, fluent in English, stayed home to make calls, complete forms and attend job interviews with his father, who was desperate to be able to support his family but spoke very little English. These are just three examples of the overwhelming challenges that families were attempting to manage.
The parents of these students, and countless others like them, knew that school attendance was extremely important. Most were deeply committed to their children’s futures and wanted them to succeed. They were, however, without the resources they needed for the very survival of their families, and, in desperation, they resorted to relying on their children — especially teenage children — to help the family stay afloat.
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To enable repeatedly truant students to return to school on a regular basis, the needs of each family have to be understood and addressed, often requiring numerous home visits, referrals to support systems and continuous follow-up. Strong partnerships between school student services teams and their public and private agency collaborators are essential to successfully remedy the complex challenges students and families are experiencing.
If Virginia is serious about addressing chronic school absenteeism, it should be prepared to provide trained professionals to tackle these issues with an array of services to ensure that all families are safe, secure and able to send their children to school each day.
Judy Madden, Washington
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