A woman in Chicago is facing jail time for her son who is 13 for truancy for missing almost 200 days of school in 2 yrs.
She appeared in court Friday on of misdemeaner charges allowing her 13 yr. old son to miss more than half the days he was supposed to be in school since 2002. The boy should be in 8th grade but is in 6th.
He was at another school prior and the mom claims he was sick last week but before that he was "mentally & emotionally" abused by the staff of the previous school. "they failed him" she said.
Ok. What does this have to do with the price of eggs?
So ok maybe he was failed at the other school, abused by the staff and he peers according to the article in the Tribune.
But this is a different school, different staff, peers etc. He already missed a week of school. Looks to me like the pattern of truancy is still happening.
The article doesn't state how much more he has missed so far.
The woman who is being charged also has another child with a different father from the boy but she "likes" school and has no problem.
Should this Mother be put in jail for the 30 days? Is jail time the answer?
When should the schools and staff become involved?
I think it will be interesting to see what comes of this. I do think the Mom should be charged with truancy but how does this help the child to stay in school?
geez!

I don’t think charging the mother with truancy will help the child stay in school. I don’t know how funding works in Illinois, but in Texas funds are based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). In addition, school districts in Texas have had to juggle factors to obtain a good rating on the state’s accountability system. Those factors included standardized test scores, dropout rate and attendance. In the school district from which I retired, chronic absentees were sometimes dropped to keep attendance up. Herein is the catch 22. Dropping a student for attendance reason, drives up the dropout rate.

Early in my career, my district employed “home school” coordinators. These were sort of mobile counselors who made home visits, etc. Eventually the district phased these positions out.

I don’t know what “strategies” (God I hate that word) school authorities in Chicago have tried—they may have worked diligently with the home—but putting the mom in jail probably won’t be an answer. Innovation is sometimes slow in public education, even when it might be beneficial to both the child educationally and the school financially. It’s the old “we’ve always done it that way” mentality.

I would be interested to know what disciplinary actions were taken by the school and the state before charging the mother with truancy.

A lot of kids ditch school at one time or another, and it's small potatos, but 200 days in two years is WAY excessive. The kid is two years behind, and it's obvious that the parent is being negligent.

Depending upon the prior history and interaction between the mother, the school, the child, and law enforcement agencies, I would more than likely support a 30 day jail term, but I don't have enough information to make a solid statement about that.

Should this Mother be put in jail for the 30 days? Is jail time the answer?

Yes, she should be sentenced. It looks like this woman has "failed her son", not the former school. I think that the state should also begin looking at removing the child from the home as it appears he has no future with a mother that is unable to control him.

When should the schools and staff become involved?

They should become involved once the child is on school grounds. They should, and I am not saying that they are not, provide an atmosphere where learning is encouraged. These people have their hands full with the children that do make it to class. The parents are responsible for getting them there.

I think it will be interesting to see what comes of this. I do think the Mom should be charged with truancy but how does this help the child to stay in school?

Well I have to think that arrangements will be made by the mother that will insure that the child arrives at school every day, well once she is out of jail. If jail time does not wake this mother up to her responsibilities, then the child needs to be removed from her custody and given a fair chance to become a productive member of society.

If you can't contoll your children, then maybe you shouldn't have had any. It is called responsibility. I for one would be a horrible father, and hence, I have no children.