Sun editorial:

Taking on truancy

School District should not have to resort to incentives to get children back to class

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 | 2:04 a.m.

One of the toughest challenges facing the Clark County School District is how to get truants to return to the classroom. Typically those children either lack sufficient parental supervision or are forced to miss school because their families suffer extreme economic hardships.

The 2007 Nevada Legislature sought to tackle this issue by requiring the school districts in Clark and Washoe counties to establish school attendance councils consisting of education, social service and law enforcement professionals. The councils were to help implement programs to reduce truancy and monitor excessive absences of pupils within the school districts.

The list of incentives Clark County schools are using to lure truants back to class, as summarized Thursday by the district’s School Attendance Council in its inaugural annual report, is certainly creative.

As reported Monday by Emily Richmond in the Las Vegas Sun, the incentives include prize drawings and pizza parties. Some of the rewards, such as raffle tickets for prizes, go to individual students. Other incentives reward students collectively for outstanding attendance.

It is one thing to reward students who do well in school, just as employers give bonuses and promotions to deserving employees. But the School District walks a fine line when it uses tax dollars to, in the words of School Board member Ruth Johnson, “bribe kids to come to school.”

Children who need such incentives to go to class will continue to demand them to stay in school. That is no way to prepare them for adult life.

The attendance council can and should encourage individual schools to do a better job of reaching out to parents and the appropriate community agencies to get these children back in school without having to resort to gimmicks.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By KDR81

7/29/08 at 8:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

...or because they don't want to be there because the school is terrible.

...or they don't want to be there because they think its a waste of time in which case we should let them join the workforce.

and if its the parents fault, maybe its because the parents have little incentive to see their children do well when they have no ability to influence the education...or maybe because they don't have to pay for the education they don't demand much, or maybe its all of the above.
By sooo_gothic

7/29/08 at 9:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

It doesn't matter if the school is terrible or the kids think that it's a waste of time. They're CHILDREN. They don't know what they what. They think they do, but small surprise you grow up and see, oh maybe it wasn't a good idea to drop out of school. Why? Because many jobs still want to see that you at least got out of high school, and those that don't aren't the best jobs for you. I've worked construction, so I know that there's a great 401k and profit sharing plan there. Complete with sick days, and a generous retirement plan.
GIVE ME A BREAK. So the kids don't want to go to school, I don't want to pay taxes. I think it goes to terrible things or I think it's a waste of time. Oh I'm an adult and I have to do a lot I don't want to do. This is a healthy measure of reality for these kids.
As one cartoon I saw in the paper depicted a while ago, your education to job earning potential is a lot like a basketball court. You get a degree, and you're set up at the free-throw line. You just get a hs diploma/GED and it's more like a half court shot. Drop out of school, and it's more like a full-court shot. Please make the kids aim higher.
By jfnance32

7/29/08 at 10:32 a.m.

Suggest removal

LOL...the school system is one big joke.

There are "honor roll" high schools students having to take remedial math and English classes in college.

If you had the teachers take 6th grade final exams from the 1960's (using grading methods from the 1960's) then I would bet $5,000 that over half would fail.

Education has been on a steady decline and it will only get worst.

The amount of money spent per student has been growing faster than inflation.

No amount of money will fix the problem.

It is time to wipe out the government run system and let the private market driven sector run it.
By sooo_gothic

7/29/08 at 11:23 a.m.

Suggest removal

???Private sector for schools. Now that's a joke. Private sector only cares about making money, not delivering services. What next, do you want to privatize the army, police, fire stations, libraries, etc? I shudder to think that all people would have to pay directly to go to school or pay to have the cops look into a murder. Color me socialist, but there are basic services that government HAS to deliver. And schooling is one of them.
By jfnance32

7/29/08 at 12:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

This is another example of absolute "NO NO NEVER" thinking.

I guess education will just keep getting worse.

The only...ONLY...solution that you can come with ...is...anybody...anybody...raise taxes and spend more money.

Of course, we tried that 40 years ago, 35 years ago, 30 years ago, 25 years ago, 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years......it will just be the same old spin...raise taxes and fix education.

2000 years from now, they will say, "Raise taxes and let's fix education!!!!!"

GO UNIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE NEA IS NUMBER 1!!!!!!
By sooo_gothic

7/29/08 at 1:35 p.m.

Suggest removal

Then don't tax. Remodel, retool, and revamp. Use the existing infrastructure. Private schools are not the answer. Taking money away isn't the answer, either. We need a thorough going over of schools to fix them, but let's not make it a free market. Besides, who in the blazes does that any ways???
By jfnance32

7/29/08 at 2:03 p.m.

Suggest removal

I do not know how old you.

If you are young, then make yourself a reminder for 40 years from now.

I sure the education system will not improve and yet they will be spending more money on the junk system. You will hear the same old same old... We need more tax money. We got program XYZ....we know this one will work..just give us the cash.

In one state, we had the same governor for 16 years. Every election, he promised to "fix" education with a new catchy XYZ program and he just needed a little more in taxes to do it.

Myopic views on public education will not help the problem. It is time to make radical changes to the bankrupt system that we have now.

They should give checks to the parents and let parents decide which school to give the money to.

Let freedom ring!!!!!!!!
By sooo_gothic

7/29/08 at 2:22 p.m.

Suggest removal

Do you realize how chaotic that system would be. You would stick poorest students always in the area immediately around them, because they couldn't afford to be taken to the richer areas. For that matter what about enrollment to the "better" schools. Who gets first choice? Name, SSN, monetary contributions? Someone will always unfairly get dumped at a junk school. The current system is the fairest to the most people. If you don't like the school you are at, move. If you have money, send them to a private school if you care so much. If you are stuck, agitate for better conditions. Any other system would be drastically less fair to more people.
By jfnance32

7/29/08 at 3:37 p.m.

Suggest removal

Poor kids going to inner city schools get absolutely no education today. If anybody is getting screwed over by public education then it is poor inner city school children.

It is just a box for them to hang out and go home.

DC has one of the highest public school funding per student in the ENTIRE WORLD. They spend over $14,000 per student. Nevada spends arond $6,000 per student. Not one single congressmen, senator or high level cabinet member will ever dare to send their child to a DC public school.

I bet $1,000 that if you went to an DC inner city high school for one day then at the end of day you would be so stun that you will be mumbling words for days.

The only hope for inner city children is checks for the parents. They are now enslaved in totally broken public school system.

With those checks, all kinds of private schools and church schools would pop up everwhere. At least some of them will have a chance at a good education.

I would be willing just to have poor inner city kids get the checks. If white middle class parents are so dumb to send their children to public schools then they desire the messed up poorly educated students that come out that system.

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