The city announced a new program today aimed at reducing truancy during the school year.
The program — called “Every Student. Every Day” — starts next month and will first be deployed in 25 schools that will test pilot initiatives before they are brought to schools citywide.
The 25 schools have principals who have volunteered to participate in the program in an effort to combat below-average attendance levels.
“At the beginning of the school year, 1,500 students who are most at-risk for attendance problems will be matched with a supportive school mentor, who will work to keep them in school and on track throughout the year,” said Mayor Bloomberg.
“We are also using data and community support groups in new ways, and reminding students and parents about the importance of going to school everyday. Too many children miss too much school, and truancy is often a child’s first step in the wrong direction. Students need to be in school: Every Student. Every Day.”
Overall daily attendance rates have steadily increased over the past few years. The city averaged 91 percent last year.
Of those who did miss school, about 20 percent missed one month or more last year.
The city said three out of four students who are severely chronically absent in the sixth grade never graduate from high school.
In June, Bloomberg announced the formation of a new Mayoral Interagency Task Force to combat truancy.
The Task Force, composed of numerous city agency heads, is designed to create a set of initiatives to tackle chronic truancy.
With AP