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Commentary — Despite efforts, Racine truancy rate is back on the rise
February 5, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, in the 2003-04 school year 18.1 percent of Racine Unified School District students were considered habitual truants.
In 2004-05 the number of habitual truants dropped to 9.7 percent; in 2005-06 the number decreased further to 8.7 percent and in 2006-07 the number fell even further to 8.1 percent. In 2007-08 the number rose slightly to 9.1 percent and then made significant jumps in 2008-09 and 2009-10 to 14.5 percent and 15.5 percent respectively.
While it’s impossible to determine the exact reasons why there were significant reductions in the number of chronic truants and the subsequent (and equally significant) rise over the past two school years – there are a number of factors that I believe contributed to the decline and may explain why we are seeing the truancy rate creeping back up again.
In the early 2000s, members of the community took notice of the shocking number of RUSD students who were considered chronic truants.
This observation engendered a great deal of concern and spurred the creation of the Racine County Truancy Committee. The committee, which was comprised of individuals from a broad cross-section of the community embarked on a mission to turn those numbers around. The committee had two primary orders of business – create a comprehensive truancy plan for the school district (RUSD was only the second or third district in the state to actually ratify and implement a community developed truancy plan) and raise awareness of truancy as a problem, not only for the schools but for the community as a whole.
As a group, committee members were energized and highly motivated to find solutions to the problem of chronic truancy. There were no “singular” answers, no finger pointing and most importantly – no “turf issues.” Individuals with very different backgrounds and varying perspectives found themselves working closely together in pursuit of a common end.
Within the past year, RUSD launched the Virtual School online education program; the Racine United Way announced plans to collaborate with RUSD and the community to bring state of the art programming to at risk elementary school students and the City of Racine began development of the After School Zones partnership with a wide array of community and public sector agency partners.
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Open enrollment extension affects schools too
February 4, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
Open Enrollment starts in just a few days in Wisconsin. It’s a program that allows families who live in one district to send their child to a school in another district. Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Wednesday expanding the open enrollment period from three weeks to three months, giving parents plenty of time to make a decision.
But that’s leaving schools of all kinds, including virtual schools, waiting longer to start planning for the next school year.
Jeff LeMahieu is the Dean of Students for Wisconsin Connections Academy, a public virtual charter school based in Appleton. When he first scheduled a Thurdsday-night informational meeting for parents in Sparta, he thought he was going to have to worry about them missing a three-week open enrollment period.
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Wisconsin Connections Academy Parent Information Session
January 29, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
Parents of students who are looking for an alternative to their current school are invited to learn more about Wisconsin Connections Academy (WCA), the state’s K-12 tuition-free, highly accountable virtual public school that enrolls students across the state, at an upcoming Information Session. Information Sessions include one-on-one time with teachers, plus the opportunity to view the curriculum and sample lessons.
The WCA Information Session will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m., at Country Springs Hotel (2810 Golf Rd.) in Pewaukee. Students must apply online to WCA during the state’s Open Enrollment period, Feb. 6 through Feb. 24.
For the rest of the article, go to Wisconsin Connections Academy Parent Information Session
