Ryan nets $50G to battle pupil truancy

The truancy intervention program will benefit 50 Trumbull County pupils.
BY AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A new program to deal with pupil absenteeism in Trumbull County schools has received a $50,000 boost.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, obtained the federal funds for the United Methodist Community Center's Truancy Intervention Program, which will benefit four Trumbull County school districts.
Ryan called the program "very important" today.
"Through the years, UMCC has played a big part in helping the community of Warren," he said. "With the Truancy Intervention Program, they'll be helping Trumbull County school districts."
The program, to begin Sept. 1, will benefit 50 pupils in the Warren, Niles and Girard districts and The Trumbull Career and Technical Center, said Juanita Pasley, UMCC site coordinator.
UMCC officials will work closely with the districts and the Trumbull County Juvenile Justice Center to target middle and high school pupils who have missed 20 days or more of school, Pasley said.
Seeking the cause
Once the problem pupils are identified, the UMCC then does a home-based assessment to find the root causes of absenteeism, Pasley said. The program then offers intervention and training for pupils and their parents.
The program also monitors the pupils' behavior and academics once they return to school.
Ryan said he is supportive of the program because it deals with the causes of truancy.
"With a high number of students living in poverty, it's important to look at the home life of these students," he said. "This program is working on dealing with poverty, which is very dear to me."
The truancy program is being used in the Youngstown City Schools with good results, said Millicent S. Counts, UMCC executive director.
"This program has a good track record," she said. "It really works."
Results
In the seven years the program has been in place, attendance in the Youngstown district has risen from around 80 percent to 93.2 percent, Counts said.
Warren schools' attendance figures are at 92.7 percent, which is just below the 93 percent that the state's report card requires, said Gordon Hazen, supervisor of pupils for the district.
The state report card determines what ratings districts receive from the Ohio Department of Education.
Warren schools moved from "academic watch" to "continuous improvement" in the rankings, which were released last week.
"We hope this program will help them move the next step up the ladder," Counts said.
In the 2006 rankings, Niles was rated as an effective school district and had a 93.4-percent attendance rating. Girard was rated as excellent, and its attendance was set at 96.1 percent. TCTC is not measured in the state report cards.
In the future, UMCC would like to target more pupils in Trumbull County, Pasley said.
"Eventually, we would like to take on as many as 150 to 200 students per year," she said. "But for right now the $50,000 is going to go a long way toward helping us get started."
agarrett@vindy.com