Pilot program also nets district an extra $250,000 in daily attendance funds
When the Caldwell School District closed the books on the 2006-07 school year, about 65 more kids were attending classes daily than at the start of the year.
It doesn't seem like a big number for a district with about 6,500 students, but the increased attendance netted the district about $250,000 in additional state funds.
How did they do it? District officials credit a pilot truancy program that sent about 280 kids and parents through an in-house family court system. It is designed to get kids back in class by holding the kids and parents responsible and by helping to solve problems that are stumbling blocks to attendance.
The pilot program was so successful that the Vallivue School District is using Caldwell as a model to start its own truancy program this fall, using the same Byrne grant funding through Idaho State Police.
More kids in class means more kids are learning — already tough in a district where poverty is the biggest issue, Caldwell School District Superintendent Roger Quarles said.
About 70 percent of Caldwell students receive free or reduced-price lunch. And no Caldwell school met adequate yearly progress goals in the Idaho standards achievements tests released last week.
"This means 60 more kids have an opportunity to break the cycle they're in," said Quarles, adding that education can help end poverty.
Changes in next year's program include a truancy court in Canyon County.
Heather Ramos, truancy officer for the Caldwell district, said students in seventh grade and above could be sent to the county Magistrate Court if they consistently miss school.
"A very few will go that way," Ramos added. "We've already done just about everything at that point."
Ramos wants to get the message out about attendance earlier in the year, and staff will be at Caldwell school registration with printed material to share.
Byrne grant advisory committee members are looking into possible college or tech school scholarships for older teens who complete the program, said committee Chair LeAnne Simmons of United Way.
Teens 16 and older often drop out instead of working to improve their attendance, said Simmons, but "I'm not willing to throw these kids away."
Canyon County police have a vested interest in getting kids off the street, Caldwell Police Chief Bob Sobba said.
Sobba, who will help coordinate the grant after he retires from the police force Aug. 23, said initial research for the grant profiled the top 20 problem youths in Caldwell.
Among other common traits, they had not graduated, were truant in school, violated curfews and were involved in petty thefts. That led to the assumption that keeping youths in school could give them other options in life and keep them out of the jail system, he said.
Research throughout this year by students at Albertson College of Idaho supported that theory.
Jann Adams, director of institutional research at College of Idaho, said a preliminary survey of more than 1,300 Caldwell High School students showed teens perceived that they missed less school when they were involved in extracurricular activities or when they believed a teacher cared about them.
The data also showed teen girls said they were truant as often as boys, a pattern that is different from traditional stereotypes of young men and women.
"Females in the past haven't gotten into that kind of trouble as much as males," Adams said.
Students taking the survey used their own definition of truancy to answer questions. Next year, when the questionnaire is administered again, it will define truancy, which could change some results.
In the long term, Sobba said, police hope to see less youth crime as a result of anti-truancy efforts. But that impact is years away, he said. Kids most affected by truancy education are now only 10, 11 and 12, he said.
Vallivue Superintendent George Grant said his district has already hired a truant officer and hopes to increase district attendance by 2 percent in the first year of the program. The district has about 6,000 students.
While Vallivue will look to Caldwell for its expertise, the district has distinctive problems, including its size — the 6,000-student district covers much of Canyon County, including parts of Nampa and Caldwell. Transportation is a big issue for Vallivue, he said.
"Getting kids to school is huge," Grant said.
Vallivue schools are far apart, he said, so school has to create a support system that works directly with the truancy program.
Truancy officer Ramos said the Caldwell program was more successful than she had imagined in its first year.
Ramos met or talked with about 1,500 parents and kids during the school year. She said her initial message was generally "what can I do to help you get (to school)?"
One contact was enough for about half the families, she said, and those kids came to school regularly after that contact.
Vickie Ashwill: 373-6691