ASSENZE SCOLASTICHE:IN ALABAMA E’ UNA QUESTIONE SERIA!

 

ASSENZE SCOLASTICHE:

IN ALABAMA E’ UNA QUESTIONE SERIA!

 

Verso la fine del 2010 leggevo la report card di Paolo (pagella  per noi vecchi!) e la mia attenzione fu attirata dai ritardi (tardies) che Paolo aveva accumulato: 5.

Per di più tutti con asterisco che riportava la dizione unexcused!

(Ecco sotto una tra le possibili report card che arrivano a casa dalle varie scuole americane. Noterete che vi sono riportati i ritardi e naturalmente le assenze)

Sono andato subito a parlare con la maestra, la quale mi ha subito detto di stare attento ai ritardi, che qui sono una cosa seria e sopratutto di scusarli quando si fanno.

Cioè se si arriva in ritardo a scuola, bisogna compilare una dichiarazione, nella quale sichiarisce il motivo del ritardo.

Di ritardi poi non ne abbiamo fatti piu’ ed allora la mia attenzione sul problema si e’ abbassata.

Sono rimasto sempre molto attento alle assenza ingiustificate, perche’ se si va oltre le 10 ci sono problemi.

I genitori hanno a disposizione 10 giustificazioni (plausibili) per giustificare le assenze del figlio.

Oltre le 10 giustifiche dei genitori o c’e’ la giustifica del dottore oppure  sei unexcused!

Pero’ anche di assenze Paolo ne ha fatte pochissime e non mi sono piu’ preoccupato del problema.

Ma ieri la severità americana si e’ ripresentata, mentre leggevo il giornale incredulo!!

Ecco l’articolo dell’HSV Times che vi riporto fedelmente:

HUNTSVILLE, AL — A Huntsville mother was jailed Wednesday for allowing three of her children to miss a combined total of more than 100 days of school.

Katina Mechelle Carter, 35, was booked into the Madison County jail Wednesday morning for violation of parental responsibilities, according to jail officials.

Connie Baer, a social worker with Huntsville City Schools, said Carter was sentenced to six months in jail. She will serve three days of her sentence, with the remainder suspended.

The sentence was imposed immediately.

“She was told to call a relative to make arrangements for her children, that she was going to jail,” Baer said.

Madison County District Judge Ruth Ann Hall, who presided over the case, declined to comment through her staff Wednesday, citing the pending nature of the case.

Carter’s case involved twins who are now 15 years old and a 16-year-old child, Baer said. The three children have racked up 29, 31 and 43 absences individually. In addition, each child has more than 25 tardies.

“A lot of their attendance is identical,” Baer said. “If one missed, the others missed.”

Truancy in the schools is a problem that Huntsville administrators take seriously, though jail for a parent is a last resort.

“Truancy is not like shoplifting,” Baer said. “(Parents) continue to get chance after chance after chance to get them in school.”

Baer explained that school administrators who see an attendance problem with a student issue a referral to the system’s Pupil Services Division. A social worker contacts the parents and works with them to determine how the issue can be resolved.

Pupil Services received a total of 3,175 referrals during the 2009-2010 school year.

Five or more unexcused absences, 10 or more questionable excused absences, 10 or more unexcused tardies or three out-of-school suspensions result in a parent’s referral to the Early Warning Program.

The program, a joint effort between the school district and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, is an attempt to reduce truancy and student dropout rates and to provide intervention for students’ behavioral problems.

A total of 541 cases were sent through the Early Warning Program last school year, Baer said. The program consists of weekly group sessions at the Madison County Courthouse, during which school officials review the system’s attendance policies and parents are informed of the consequences of keeping their children out of school.

“It’s a formal way to say that we think your child has an attendance problem,” Baer said.

If the attendance problem continues, criminal charges are filed through the warrant magistrate. Just 56 parents wound up facing charges last school year, Baer said. None served jail time.

Carter is the second parent to go to jail this school year for failing to get her children to school. Her initial court date was in January.

“She went back to court (Wednesday), and the children had more absences,” Baer said.

Baer said missing so much school, particularly in the elementary grades, can have an “extreme” impact on a child’s learning.

“You can make up some of the work, but you don’t ever get that teacher time back,” she said. “You can never make up the instruction that you miss.”

La signora Carter e’ stata condannata a SEI MESI di carcere, per aver fatto perdere circa 100 giorni di scuola ai suoi 3 figli e per avergli fatto fare piu’ di 25 ritardi a scuola!!

Avete letto bene 6 mesi di carcere (anche se sconterà solo tre giorni in carcere, mentre i rimanenti li dovrà scontare in lavori socialmente utili) e gli hanno dato solo poche ore di tempo per trovare dei parenti dove sistemare i ragazzi, prima che andasse in cella!!

Nell’articolo si capisce perche’ la maestra mi diceva di stare attento ai ritardi non giustificati.

Infatti dopo 5 assenze ingiustificate, 10 o piu’ assenze scusate, 10 o piu’ ritardi ingiustificati o 3 sospensioni i parenti vengono deferiti all’Early Warning Program.

L’anno scorso ad HSV ci sono stati 541 casi di deferimento a tale programma, di cui solo 56 sono passati dal magistrato di competenza.

E la povera signora e’ il secondo genitore incarcerato ad HSV in quest’anno!

Naturalmente non si puo’ mai giudicare da un articolo di giornale, perche’ non si sanno bene come sono andate le cose (dato che i giornalisti generalmente  sono poco fedeli alla realta’), ma questo vi da una idea di quanto sono severi in USA, su molte cose! 

  

Girando su internet ho poi notato che c’e’ una attenzione quasi maniacale da parte delle autorita’ scolastiche sui ritardi!

  

Sound Off Thursday: School tardy policy too tough?

The tardy policy at Holmes Elementary in West Central Spokane has one parent crying foul.

Parents are only allowed to excuse their own child’s tardies with a note from a doctor or dentist.

When children are tardy, they have to miss lunch recess and sit in the table storage room off of the multi-purpose room.

Sara Schibel’s son goes to Holmes and she says it’s unfair to punish an elementary school student for being late when it’s most likely not their fault.

When pressed, Spokane Public Schools and Holmes principal, Steve Barnes, said tardy policies are handled on a school by school basis.

Do you think it’s unfair to require parents to provide a note from a doctor if their child is late?  Do you think all schools should have the same tardy policy across the board?

  

Questa scuola addirittura ammette ritardi giustificati solo con nota di un dottore o di un dentista!

E certe scuole hanno ad hoc software, che gestiscono solo i ritardi!

  

La scuola di cui si legge nell’articolo di sotto ha dotato gli studenti di badge, che vanno usati per accedere alle varie lezioni!

Tutto e’ gestito da un software special e da una task force dedicata!

Making sure students get to class on time, that’s the goal of a high-tech program at West Ashley High School.

The school has around two-thousand students, and a program is helping to speed things up to make sure they beat the tardy bell. Tardy Sweep at West Ashley High School uses a computer program called speed sweep to scan student badges, which pulls up an immediate history of tardies along with consequences. Leatrice Frasier, a student concern specialists, mans the Tardy Sweep station. She says, “Prior to having this, everything went through the attendance office and with this system here, it sort of speeds up the process and the kids get to class more quickly.” Teachers continue the sweep, and walk the halls during planning period to get students to their right locations. Teacher Liz Linda says, “It cuts down considerably on disruptions, whether the students are five seconds late, 15 seconds late, a minute late, students come in and are prepared to work.”

The school had close to 400 tardies a-day, before using the program, now principal Mary Runyon says they have seen that number decrease to fifty on some days. The first few weeks we had a lot of tardies, but now they are days we only have 50, 60, 70 and with seven opportunities to be tardy, that’s a very low number. It has created an environment where students understand instruction is extremely important. Bell to bell teaching is extremely important. Our hallways are clear, the graffiti is diminished considerably and we have a priority and it’s called instructional time.” Students say, it’s making a difference. Junior Dana Clune says, “I think it’s a lot better. It will make us get to class on time. “

Teachers found the Speed Sweep software at a High Schools That Works conference. It cost 500-dollars. Mrs. Runyon told News 2 several schools have come to look at the program at West Ashley High. Depending on the number of tardy violations, punishment includes in-school, and out-of-school suspension

Insomma in USA le manette sono molto piu’ vicine al cittadino, rispetto a quanto si possa pensare.

Ma lasciamo la troppa severita’ agli americani e pensiamo ad un modo migliore per utilizzare le manette (in casi come questi)!