White House picks Philly for anti-truancy pilot
For as long as principal James Williams can remember, the freshman class at Kensington Health Sciences Academy has struggled with showing up to school every day.
For as long as principal James Williams can remember, the freshman class at Kensington Health Sciences Academy has struggled with showing up to school every day.
That is, until two weeks ago, when the school joined a White House initiative aimed at addressing chronic absenteeism in schools in 10 cities around the United States.
Freshmen were once the school's worst-attending class, but 90 percent of the class showed up to school Thursday, besting the school average of 83 percent attendance.
"There's no comparison," Williams said. "Our freshman class now has the highest attendance by far, and we attribute that to the relationships and the programs we have now."
In a news conference Friday, White House officials touted Philadelphia's efforts - and those in Austin, Texas; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Miami; New York City; Providence, R.I.; San Antonio, Texas; and Seattle.
"This is a really big deal," said Robert Balfanz, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education working for the White House on the My Brother's Keeper Every Student, Every Day campaign.
The program trains mentors - current staff members - to work closely with a group of students targeted because they had missed 10 percent or more of school days in the first half of this academic year.
The nonprofit Ad Council will launch a multimillion-dollar effort to foster discussion of the effects of absenteeism, using a website, billboards, and ads in buses, doctor's offices and schools, said John King, the acting secretary of education.
Four Philadelphia schools have been chosen for a pilot of the My Brother's Keeper program, officials said - Kensington Health Sciences, South Philadelphia High, Tilden Middle School, and Cayuga Elementary.
School staffers volunteer with students in three of the buildings; at Kensington, the corps members from the service group City Year work with the at-risk young people.
If a student does not show up to school, there is a personal phone call. When the young man or woman returns, there's a personal visit.
"It's relationship building, as opposed to accountability," said Bob Nelson, Kensington Health Science's counselor.
Officials said the White House chose Philadelphia because of its successful participation in a project last year that sent text messages to parents of chronically absent students. The simple act of reaching out boosted attendance significantly, officials said.
Balfanz said the district is "doing some really good, inventive work in this area."
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