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Curbing Truancy in Hunting Park
Keeping students in school
By Tamara Fisher and Kylee Myers
On any given school day in Philadelphia approximately 2,500 students are absent without an excuse. Students in Hunting Park contribute to this number, but a local organization, ASPIRA Inc., is trying to change that.
“The majority of [truancy] cases deal with students who don’t have a responsible person in their home to take care of them, said Myra Pabon, coordinator for ASPIRA’s Hunting Park stakeholders. “Or to wake them up in the morning to tell them to go to school.”
ASPIRA’s stakeholders assist students who appear in court for truancy issues. The program also helps students by providing housing, food, and clothing—basic necessities many of these students lack.
“Basically our stakeholders work to give students a better quality of life,” said Martha Sierrra, ASPIRA’s communications director.
A student is considered truant if he or she is absent three to five days in a row without an excuse, while students sent to truancy court have missed more than 30 to 40 school days.
“Some of these students’ parents are divorced or separated,” said Pabon, “And some of the mothers
we deal with in Hunting Park allow their kids to stay home from school to help out with younger children and household chores.”
The stakeholders make phone calls on students’ behalf letting them know about places they can go to get help or services. The program, according to Pabon, looks to offer more ways to keep children in school and their parents involved.
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Find out more:
* ASPIRA's "It's a Better Life"