MARYSVILLE When a parent gets a call from a truancy officer, many times it is their first clue that their child has been missing school.
Some may think truants grow up in houses on the wrong side of the tracks, in poverty or with parents who just dont care, but school administrators say otherwise.
They really run the gamut, according to Marysville School District assistant superintendent Gail Miller, who said parents get a letter when their child is absent five days. After 10, they are served court papers.
Parents can be fined $25 for every day their child is absent from school. Schools have more authority than in past years, when a job was a teenagers ticket out of school. Now anyone under 18 must be enrolled in some kind of vocational or educational program. Parents are responsible and schools districts have the courts and the cops on their side. Legislation passed in Washington allows districts to petition courts to allow police to pick up truants.
The Becca law put some teeth into it, Miller said.
But districts dont want to sink their teeth into the students or the parents backside, they want kids to realize the risks of neglect. In the past a drop-out could get a decent manufacturing job and survive with an eighth-grade education, but not anymore.
In the old days it would be called truancy, Miller said. Thats changed. Its trying to support parents. Our goal is getting kids back in school.
Clint Conrad is the Arlington High School truancy officer and as the weather gets nicer he expects his business to pick up. He says freshman are his biggest customers as they transition from middle school to high school. His caseload is heavy with 15- and 16-year-olds.
Thats where we see the most kids, Conrad said. We dont see many kids who are sophomores or juniors or seniors.
And for many parents, a letter with his Hancock at the bottom is the first clue they have. The district has a robot caller to help him and his peers spread the bad news.
They are often surprised that their kids arent in school, Conrad said, adding that most parents are usually looking for help. When they chat with him he pushes them to file an At Risk Youth petition. This is asking the court to help them get control of their child.
And the court is more than happy to do that. Its a great help for a parent, Conrad explained. They go hand in hand with truancy court.
He sees lots of kids from all walks of life and every income bracket. With chagrin he notes that many recent immigrants fool their parents and bypass district efforts to tell them of their wayward children. Younger kids often speak English better than their parents and Conrad has to find away around the barrier. He notes that many of these immigrant teens hit Americas shore wanting to work and earn a dollar to help their family. Its touching, but its short-sighted.
I saw that in Everett all the time. The Russian kids didnt not want to be in school. They just wanted to get a job, Conrad lamented.
The juvenile court could release them from school at age 16 if they had a job before the Becca Bill came along, and the kids would have to send pay stubs to the court for several months. Arlington has a lot of Hispanics appearing and many of their teens feel the same way.
They do like to work and they want to make money, Conrad noted, emphasizing the extra burden these kids carry. School is difficult enough for everybody but when you speak English as a second language its really tough.
Debbie Axtman oversees 1,200 truants for Marysville schools. Most arent out of school but are on the cusp of getting an abrupt reminder in the form of an At Risk Youth petition, she said, and for good reason.
Weve seen a lot of trends, Axtman said, ticking off a long list: more pregnancies, homelessness, crime, trips to drug dependency court, mothers left alone after Child Protective Services has come and taken their kids. Kids that dont graduate have a greater chance of that happening.
Axtmans caseload is for a district with 11,500 kids; Arlington has about half that amount, with 226 truancy files open for a student body of 5,550, according to numbers provided by spokeswoman Misti Gilman. Axtman is candid about her files, noting that a student doesnt have to stray far to get on her list.
Were pretty vigilant; were trying to get to kids earlier, she said. Were stricter.
Miller piled on.
We take a look at kids early. We dont wait until the 10 days, Miller elaborated, noting the various status of those 1,200 cases Axtman deals with. Some of them are genuinely involved in the courts. So theres a true range among those 1,200.
Arlington School District deputy superintendent Warren Hopkins said his staff has their hands around the problem and are increasingly vigilant about reducing drop outs.
I think we are working hard at getting kids in school, Hopkins said. I think Clint and the others have done as much as they can.
Arlington parents can actually track their students attendance on line as well as their academic progress.
They can check online for their grades and attendance, Conrad said, adding that hes not a cop, but a resource.
Axtman echoes his sentiment, describing parents sitting in her office looking tired, at the end of their rope. One call came from an excellent parent of five kids who had done everything right, and one decided to be a turkey. Parents come in feeling stressed thinking Axtman must somehow know they are bad parents.
I can share that frustration. Ive been there and done that one. You can see them visibly relax, that they know its OK, she said.