Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper made house calls Wednesday morning to urge students with histories of chronic absenteeism to return to class.”Every single student, every single family is critical to how we’re trying to make Boston a home for everyone,” Wu said. This year 70 volunteers are helping encourage students to come back to school.”Just so you guys know, I’m a former high school dropout and it was one conversation from an individual, a neighbor, who helped to get me back on track,” said Emmanual Allen, director of Boston Public Schools Re-Engagement Center. Boston Public School officials said they are seeing improvement with four straight years of a decline in chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 18 days regardless of the reason. Across elementary schools, the absenteeism rate is in the high 20s; however, at the high school level, it’s in the high 40s. City leaders said there are countless reasons why a student may become chronically absent. Wu and Skipper met with a 19-year-old student on Copeland Street who stopped attending classes when her previous high school shut down.”We’re going to work with her principal and her mom,” Skipper said. Her mom is very much an advocate for her and wants her in school every day and make sure that she can be there, so she committed to going back tomorrow and having a new start.” A new challenge this year in getting some students to school stems from fear over the potential use of ICE agents in Boston. “We do not ask about immigration status when it comes to registering for school, taking out a library book, taking advantage of any of the programs that we have from kids through seniors and every generation in between,” Wu said. “We are the safest major city in the country because we are safe for everyone.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper made house calls Wednesday morning to urge students with histories of chronic absenteeism to return to class.
“Every single student, every single family is critical to how we’re trying to make Boston a home for everyone,” Wu said.
This year 70 volunteers are helping encourage students to come back to school.
“Just so you guys know, I’m a former high school dropout and it was one conversation from an individual, a neighbor, who helped to get me back on track,” said Emmanual Allen, director of Boston Public Schools Re-Engagement Center.
Boston Public School officials said they are seeing improvement with four straight years of a decline in chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 18 days regardless of the reason.
Across elementary schools, the absenteeism rate is in the high 20s; however, at the high school level, it’s in the high 40s.
City leaders said there are countless reasons why a student may become chronically absent.
Wu and Skipper met with a 19-year-old student on Copeland Street who stopped attending classes when her previous high school shut down.
“We’re going to work with her principal and her mom,” Skipper said. Her mom is very much an advocate for her and wants her in school every day and make sure that she can be there, so she committed to going back tomorrow and having a new start.”
A new challenge this year in getting some students to school stems from fear over the potential use of ICE agents in Boston.
“We do not ask about immigration status when it comes to registering for school, taking out a library book, taking advantage of any of the programs that we have from kids through seniors and every generation in between,” Wu said. “We are the safest major city in the country because we are safe for everyone.”
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