District Truancy Plan helps students succeed

Our main focus at Bartlesville Public Schools is educating our students to allow them to succeed in life. We teach them how to read and write, how to add and subtract, and later on in school how to broaden their horizons in more advanced learning. In order for students to gain their full educational potential, they must attend school on a regular basis. With this in mind, we are taking additional steps to ensure student attendance by improving our district's Truancy Action Plan and securing assistance from local agencies and the court system.

Bartlesville Public Schools, Judge Jan Dreiling, the District Attorney's office and several key community agencies have initiated a process to develop a plan to encourage our students to eliminate unnecessary school absences. Although we understand there are days when students cannot attend due to sickness or other personal reasons, we know there are instances when students simply choose not to attend class. In almost all cases, students who excessively miss school get behind in their basic educational skills, eventually drop out of school and are then at a disadvantage in life.

The newly-revised Truancy Action Plan addresses students who have four or more truancy offenses or who have chronically poor attendance. Parents of truant students will receive a letter or phone call to notify them of attendance issues. If the initial call does not promote better attendance, the principal will send a letter to the parent and to the district truancy officer. The letter will advise them of a time and date to meet with the District Truancy Action Team.

During this meeting, the team, the student and the parents will work together to develop an attendance improvement plan. In this plan, the student will state the reason for not attending school and list ways they can improve their attendance.

If the plan does not eliminate the truancy problem, the student's principal will send a referral to the district truancy officer for continued noncompliance. The officer will then notify the District Attorney's Office for further action.

Bartlesville Public Schools takes truancy seriously. Parents must comply with state compulsory school attendance laws. In Oklahoma , students between the ages of 5 and 18 must attend school, according to Oklahoma Statute Title 70 School Code of 1971, Article X, Section 10-105. Other state statutes tell us that anyone who knowingly assists a minor to become delinquent, deprived, or in need of supervision is subject to a misdemeanor charge which could result in a fine, incarceration and/or other penalties imposed by the Court. These laws are in place to help schools form productive members of society.

In Truancy Court , the District Attorney's Office will charge the parents of the offending student with one of the statutes previously mentioned. Truancy Court proceeds like adult criminal court, where the defendant has the same constitutional rights. He or she has the right to a trial, or a plea can be entered. The main goal of the court is not to serve a fine or require jail time, but rather it is to provide some type of probation initially to motivate the parents to get their students back in school. Any probation will be supervised by the judge, but continued violations could lead to a motion by the District Attorney's Office to revoke the suspended or deferred sentence.

The Bartlesville Public School District wants students to be successful, and we are fortunate to have a judicial system in Bartlesville that will assist us in doing that. Truancy is one of the primary causes for student failure. If students are not in class, they cannot learn. If students do not learn, they cannot succeed in school or in life.

Together with the community, Bartlesville Public Schools can help combat truancy. I want to thank our student and parent accountability committee including Barry W. Lowe, School Board President; Janet Vernon, Executive Director of Secondary Instruction; and Earl Sears, Central Middle School principal; along with other administrators and staff for starting this process. In addition, o n behalf of our school district, I want to take this opportunity to especially express our gratitude for the support of our community members, including Judge Jan Dreiling, who have helped us create this Truancy Action Plan. The Bartlesville community has truly changed the lives and educational experience of Bartlesville 's students and will leave a lasting impact on future generations of students. Together, we are “Focusing on Student Achievement!”