City launches truancy program targeted at Monroe County school students

Monroe County has stepped up its efforts to prevent high school truancy and dropout rates through a new court program.

The new system, a cooperative effort between Monroe County schools and the county government, will call truant students in on a weekly basis to deliver progress reports.

Jay True, assistant principal at Bloomington High School South, said truancy courts have been used by the school for 10 years, but they weren’t as strict as the new system and often did not follow up with cases. However, as part of the new “Live Better” campaign launched last November, the truancy court has been rejuvenated with a fresher outlook and more community support.

“Our goal is not to find students who miss class once or twice,” True said. “We’re trying to find habitual truants – students who miss class because of serious dysfunctions. If we can put our finger on the real problem behind truancy, we can put a stop to the cycle.”

The new model was proposed to the city court system by Chris Gaal, Bloomington prosecuting attorney.The campaign is meant to coincide with President Barack Obama’s call to reduce high school dropout rates.

In his Feb. 24 address to a joint session of Congress, Obama said the United States has one of the highest dropout rates of any other industrialized nation.

“I have been working for two years to get this new model adopted,” Gaal said. “I think it will help troubled students. I am very optimistic, especially with the few cases we’ve had so far. We’ve seen so much success already.”

Gaal said the truancy court is part of the public education campaign “Live Better,” which targets high school students with the support of over 20 local organizations. Sponsors include Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Boys & Girls Club of America, Commission on the Status of Black Males, Department of Child Services, Middle Way House and Rhino’s Youth Center.

True said the campaign has a strong coalition behind it. “Live Better” posters are all over town, and every school encourages students to do the right things: attend class, graduate and be a valuable member of the community.

“The posters are colorful and inviting,” Gaal said. “Everyone in the Monroe County community should be proud of where this can take our future.

We hope to put an end to dropping out of high school, which will prevent potential delinquent behaviors.”

Gaal said research demonstrates how poor attendance leads to dropping out of school and is linked to a wide range of social problems such as substance abuse, poverty, reliance on public assistance, poor physical and mental health, delinquent behavior, violence, adult criminal behavior and incarceration.

Judge Steve Galvin, who has worked with juveniles in the past, will be heading the truancy court. Gaal said the court will have the students come in once a week for progress reports if charged.

The judge will get a progress report weekly on attendance and ethics. If the student shows improvement, he or she will graduate from the program and the charges will be dropped.

“It really is a good thing, but we will use it to prevent, not to punish,” True said. “Punishment is a harsh word, and I think that the truancy court is a good teaching system.”

The goals of the program are to help schools defeat the rising dropout rates and keep American schools in contention with the rest of the world.

Gaal believes the only way to successfully put an end to these growing figures of dropouts and crime is through grassroots work like the truancy courts and the “Live Better” campaign.