Truancy levels have gone down in the Mission District, but it is unclear if schools are better serving students and families or if fear of legal action is the only motivation behind the improvement—students and their families can be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to $2,500 in fines if the student is chronically truant.
A truant is defined by the city as any student who is more than 30 minutes late for class or misses their classes completely on more than three days.
Before leaving the Mayor’s office, Gavin Newsom teamed up with the District Attorney’s office to crack down on truancy citywide—a collaboration that lead to the creation of the Truancy Assessment & Resource Center, an intervention program that SFUSD uses as their go-to resource for assisting truant students.
Both TARC Director Tacing Parker and program advocate Lisa Mejia expressed excitement at the number of students they were able to directly assist through the program.
“This year alone we [helped] over 200 [students],” Mejia said.
“And last year we had over 300,” Parker added. “[The TARC] started in May of 2010, and within a year, we did get the news from the district that truancy levels had decreased on all school levels.”
Students may be labeled as chronically truant if they miss more than 10 percent of their classes without an excuse, while a habitual truant is one who continues to miss school after multiple attempts to reach out to the student and their family.
SFUSD schools send letters home once a student is absent more than three times, and students are generally forced to create an agreement with the school and their parents to attend classes regularly. If the truancy persists, families are sent a second and then a third and final warning letter.
After that, the school district and District Attorney’s office are notified.
“The letters can be some what intimidating,” said Elsa Gamino, attendance liaison for John O’ Connell High School. “However, what I like about the letters is that they specify the dates of tardiness and absences.”
It is usually only in extreme cases of truancy or absenteeism that students or their families may be taken to court.
According to the District Attorney’s Office there were only 50 individuals or families whose truancy case reached the courts last year, and only 115 cases have been reported in the past four years.
Truancy was one of the problems facing the Mission District in 2010 when the SFUSD chose to create the Superintendent’s Zone, which is divided into the Bayview Zone and the Mission Zone—together they have the two highest rates of truancy in the city.
According to the SFUSD, 23.1% of students in the Mission Zone were chronically absent during the 2008-2009 school year, compared to only 13.4% from 2011-2012.
The Mission Zone consists of: Bryant Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, Leonard R. Flynn Elementary, John Muir Elementary, Everett Middle School, Horace Mann Middle School, Mission High School and John O’Connell High School.
According to SFUSD spokesperson Gentle Blythe, George Moscone Elementary is excluded from the Mission Zone because it has a history of high academic performance.
The Mark of the Beast 666. What do you think this will be? A MicroChip? a Tattoo with a imprint?I just saw on the Internet that falimy in FL. Recived a Chip implant. After I think 9/11. A news man on a show thought it was a good Idea. To keep your kids safe. But, on the other hand this chip has these features:Gps tracking system. Pin point were the person is.Used for your IDMedical files will be loaded on the the chipYour cerdit as well. and so much more CRAZY IS IT NOT?Revelation 13 1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.