Reply to Roughly 25% of MCPS students are chronically absent, and absenteeism response plan delayed

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/olo/resources/files/2010-7_truancy.pdf

Truancy and chronic absenteeism report for mcps from 2010. Interestingly, there wasn’t much of a problem. Data highlights it was primarily an issue for black and latino boys.

National data says 1 in 4 black and Latino boys are chronically absent.

[/quote]

Thank you for digging this up! It's so sad how often MCPS becomes aware of a problem, even reports and looks into the problem, and then allows it to fester and become worse and then act like it's a new situation that they now need to spend months and resources studying again to understand.

Kennedy had an 8.7% chronically absent rate in 2008 and now it's over 50% in 2023! How did they let it get this bad????[/quote]

Um…the massive influx in latino newcomers—mostly boys?  The school is more than 70% latino today, but that wasn’t the case 10 years ago. The surrounding area has more than its fair share of garden apartments and SFHs that are rented or owned by latinos.

It’s not a school problem.

It’s a subcultural reality: newcomers and 1st Gen latinos from certain countries aren’t here for the education. [/quote]

They identified Latin families and boys specifically as being more likely to be chronically absent and for the reasons they researched and confirmed. None of that changed. The only thing that happened was the pandemic, which seemed to accelerate the severity of the issue.

So MCPS knows the root causes and that certain groups within the student population were more likely be chronically absent that others. They've known this information since 2005.

The report lays out actions and responsibilities across three groups:

- Schools
- Parents and Families
- Government Agencies (DHHS, MCPD, etc.)

Your point about subcultural behaviors is one component, and you're not wrong. But it doesn't absolve MCPS of its responsibility for tackling its portion of the problem. Unless you want to argue MCPS has done an above average, thorough job of doing everything it can and should be doing, which includes effective and consistent enforcement of its attendance policy. And if you want to make that claim, I'd like to see evidence of it, cause it contradicts my lived experience as a current parent of MCPS high school students.[/quote]
What do you want MCPS to do exactly?[/quote]

As I've said, repeatedly, I want MCPS to:

[b]1. Enforce its attendance policies.[/b] That means consequences for kids who skip and return to enforcement of its E3 policy (formerly called the Loss of Credit policy) that it used to have and implement as a routine and matter of fact before the pandemic.
[color=red]MCPS cannot force kids to attend schools. There are consequences for chronic absenteeism.
[/color]
[b]2. Tighten up security.[/b] Kids are allowed to wander the halls. They easily walk in and out of the school building, which enables them to move freely when they're supposed to be in school. This is not ok. They need restrict the number of access points and put more monitors in place to ensure students aren't coming and going as they please.
[color=red]Schools are not prisons. If they were, that would make even more kids to skip schools. [/color]

[b]3. Stop turning a blind eye to the issue.[/b] MCPS is aware of its chronic offenders and they turn a blind eye because they don't have the energy, resources or interest to chase down parents or families, or because they don't want to sic the system on them. Ignoring the problem, which they think is a kindness to the family, is actually not in their best interest in the long run.
[color=red]You have no idea of what you're talking about. MCPS is not turning a blind eye to the issue. Letters are sent to parents/guardians but they cannot make kids to attend schools if the parents don't.
You probably don't live in the county or have no kid in MCPS[/color]
[/quote][/quote]

1. I literally pointed out that E3 enforcement has been suspended. I know this because our MCPS high school principal told me so directly. There are not consequences for chronic absenteeism. If there were, MCPS would not be in the process of adjusting and enhancing those consequences. I know what I'm talking about and I'm engaged with several stakeholders within MCPS on this issue.

2. Tightening up security does not = a prison. Are airports prisons? Get a grip.

3. Again, I know several instances and cases where MCPS is turning a blind eye. I live in the county and have several children in MCPS. I have first-hand and second-hand experiences I'm drawing from. Stop gaslighting me and making wrongheaded assumptions when you have zero basis for your claims. What's your vested interest here? Why are you arguing from the position you are arguing? Also, it's 2023. [b]I think our communications strategy should a bit more advanced and forceful than mailing letters, especially since we're in the digital age[/b]. [b]This is another issue within MCPS: Antiquated communications strategies and policies that don't track with the way people connect and share information in the modern age[/b].[/quote]
Like I said, you have no idea of what you're talking about. They send emails and they send letters. I know what I am talking about. [/quote]

I'm aware that in addition to mailing the letters that schools send a PDF version of those same letters electronically through email.

That doesn't change my point that these formal letters, on paper or in email, are not the best way to communicate and engage in 2023. If you claim to know as much as you do, then you would know that many parents do not engage with email. Particularly those that are immigrants, lower income or uneducated.

This is due to many reasons:

1. The formal language in the letter is confusing and incomprehensible to them.

2. They don't check email regularly. So even though the notice is sent, it might be days or weeks before they see it. Or they might not see it cause they have so much unread mail that they don't notice it.

3. Their kids have access to their emails and proactively go in and delete the messages to cover their tracks so their parents don't see it.

Again, since you KNOW EVERYTHING, I shouldn't have to explain this to you. Some parents in some communities only engage with phone calls or if you catch them in person. Hence why the few principals who are bullish on chronic absenteeism do drive-bys and home visits. Of course, that's not really scalable, but it demonstrates the point that effective parent engagement is hard and often times requires a variety of outreaches across a variety of channels.

I work with MCPS on parent engagement. I've done the outreach. I've gotten the zero responses. To quote you: I know what I'm talking about.[/quote]

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