Project Helps Kids Get Back On Track Board, Students Work To Create Plan For Success, Accountability

Last month, 13-year-old Michael was failing all his classes after skipping 35 days of seventh grade.

Now he’s at his desk when the bell rings, passing his classes and trying out for the baseball team.

“We have a success story here,” says his mother. “I really believe it.”

Michael is one of the first students to encounter Spokane School District’s two-month-old truancy board - another attempt at getting chronic skippers back in school.

So far the project appears to be working, said organizer Greg Baker. Of the seven kids who have met with the board, all but one has nearly perfect attendance.

Part of the magic of the 35-member board is the variety of dedicated, volunteer members - from professors to doctors to social workers, says Baker.

“They really have an interest in these students,” he says. “A lot of these kids come from broken homes and kind of get lost in the numbers at school. Here, the spotlight’s put on them.”

Principals and judges send truants to the board. Parents accompany them to the hour-long hearings.

Board members - including Kathe Renner, who runs the truancy center - talk to students about their problems and craft a detailed plan for success.

Afterward, adult mentors keep in touch with the children to check their progress.

Recommendations for students vary. Some see counselors. Others have homework programs. One parent was urged to make sure his daughter eats breakfast before school.

Board members arranged a special transfer for Michael, so he could attend Glover Middle School with most of his buddies.

“We’re not trying to lay down discipline for these kids but let them know there are people on their side, and brainstorm why they’re not getting to school,” says board member Lisa Johnson, a social worker.

The truancy board has encountered only one student who hasn’t stopped skipping. He’ll probably be referred to juvenile court under the state Becca Bill, designed in part to crack down on truancy, Baker says.

When students wind up in juvenile court, a commissioner usually orders them back to school. Kids who don’t follow through are held in contempt of court and sentenced to detention or community service. Their parents also can be fined.

Some students are ordered to wear electronic bracelets so the court can keep track of them.

Baker’s goal is to curb truancy long before it gets to that point.

Administrators in other school districts, hearing about the board’s early successes, have asked for more details, says Baker.

But in Spokane, the $48,000 state grant that paid for the pilot program expires in June and administrators aren’t sure they’ll provide the money to continue next year.

“We’ll have to weigh the needs and demands with the rest of the programs,” says Associate Superintendent Cynthia Lambarth.

The board has Michael’s vote, anyway.

“I’m getting all passing grades and I haven’t missed a day of school,” he says. “I think it’s a very good idea.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Working with truants