In Jon Kelland's response to my posting on the Superintendent's "12
Point Plan," Mr Kelland incorrectly states:
"Shreves believes that criminalizing truant students is
one of the three most important pieces to solving the
achievement gap!"
That is not what I believe. What I do believe is that our emphasis
should be and is on building relationships between students and
teachers, providing quality instruction and rigorous, challenging
curriculum that will engage students and make them want to attend
school. In addition, we work with families and their high school
students to place the students in alternative schools if they are not
thriving or engaged in one of our 7 high schools.
But there are many families in our district who do not take seriously
their responsibility to have their children attend school regularly.
So, what I did say in my previous post was that "any student who misses
7 full or partial days of unexcused absences will be considered truant
and subject to legal action." This does not mean criminalizing
students. But it does mean that the district will work with the Hennepin
County Attorney's office to make sure that families understand that they
have a legal responsibility to send their children to school.
Catherine Shreves
Minneapolis School Board
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