Officers to handle truancy at GHS
By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-HeraldGLOVERSVILLE - Soon, Gloversville Enlarged School District students will have more than a phone call and a school official to deal with if they are labeled serial skippers.
They'll also have a uniformed police officer knocking on their door. The district has a federal grant of about $17,000 to pay for a truancy officer.
Superintendent Robert DeLilli said the funding will last only for this school year, but he hopes it make a lasting difference. He said he is working with Gloversville police officials to iron out the details of the officer's duties.
Students are labeled truant if they have 15 or more unexcused absences. District officials call the home each time a student misses school, and eventually district officials make home visits.
Despite this, there are some students who continue to be serial skippers, DeLilli said. He said parental apathy or ignorance are sometimes to blame.
A uniformed police officer making a home visit might convince parents to ensure their children get to school each day, DeLilli said. He said with 180 days in a school year, a few absences here and there can add up to have a significant effect on a child's education.
"We don't want to create conflict or strongarm people to bring their children to school, but there is a seriousness to the situation," he said. "A principal showing up is one thing. A police officer coming with us just enhances our position."
According to state education law, if a student has no legitimate excuse for missing school, police are legally empowered to visit the child's home and compel them to attend school.
Gloversville Police Capt. James Lorenzoni said city police officers will staff the position at the high school on a rotating schedule, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. each school day. The officer on duty will make home visits and be accompanied by a school official and a representative from the Fulton County Department of Social Services.
"They will be making home visits that could very well result in an arrest," Lorenzoni said. "If a parent is knowingly and consistently allowing their child to be absent from school, that is a form of endangerment."
DeLilli said truancy officers will be on duty as soon as the district is able to iron out details with the Police Department.
Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com.
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cwrohr03
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11-06-09 1:38 PM
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Interesting points. As a former teacher for the Gloversville School System, I am unsure as to what failed you all the most; your unpleasant schooling experiences or the ways in which "prison" failed you in fully grasping the comma splice. Your taxes are paying for schools and jails; why are you comparing the two? I think it's best to have truancy officials to ensure your tax dollars are being applied to students, not wasted away to kids roaming the streets. When was the last time you read to your kid or asked them how school was? Trust me, if this school was a jail, you'll know by the time your son or daughter is flipping burgers at 35 years old.
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HomeTownGuy
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11-06-09 10:24 AM
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I see way to many kids walking the streets during the day, with and without their mother..
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uzreason
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11-06-09 8:52 AM
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Will the new mayor be excused from class for ribbon cuttings or be considered truant???
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TiredOfTax
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11-06-09 7:33 AM
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OK rivinex time to go to class!
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rivinex
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11-05-09 8:07 PM
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I mean lets face it the state allows 30 abscences a year and the principals, teachers and school board members dont like it so they are going to use the police to harass students and parents. Why would teachers, principals and school board members not like that policy? Anything that empowers students and parents not to waste time learning how to be a worker bee in the corporate state is opposed by the workers profiting from a unjust system and want to insure their paychecks are not in any possible way threatened. If American schools gave real control to students, you know the people being "educated" then maybe they might actually want to attend school and be involved.
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rivinex
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11-05-09 7:11 PM
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Oh yeah I forgot to add teachers to that list, its clear that the overwhelming majority of teachers don't want empowered students, they want servile worker bees which they are manufacturing for the corporate state. Keep collecting that pay check teachers, as long as the students are thoroughly controlled you will always have a pay check.
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rivinex
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11-05-09 7:08 PM
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The schools are jails. Cameras and police everywhere. The students have no say and no voting rights on what happens in school, the federal government mandates everything and states follow suit for more grants. The only thing superintendents, principals and politicans ever propose is more cops, and more domination. The school board and DeLilli should resign its clear they are not interested in empowering students, just dominating them.
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IKnooow
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11-05-09 1:18 PM
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Why is it that young people have such a low regard for education? For all its faults, public schools offer an incredible opportunity for any student. After 50 years, looking back at all the missed opportunities in my life, I can't help but wonder why we are all so blind to what's right in front of us at the time.
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gvilleNative
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11-05-09 1:11 PM
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I agree. Fulton county has one of the highest welfare/unemployment rates. And a high drop out rate...Seems like simple math...Education=Better opportunities and eventually, possibly lower taxes...Plus, you know these kids are up to no good during the day...
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rachelrae33
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11-05-09 12:45 PM
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Good!! Maybe it will scare some of these kids and their parents into taking school seriously.
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