NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell today joined New Orleans Public Schools (NOLA-PS) Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams to welcome students and families back to school this fall.
With most schools beginning next week, Mayor Cantrell and Dr. Williams jointly stressed the importance of showing up on time, from day one of the school year. Mayor Cantrell called upon the entire community—parents, students, teachers, businesses and community organizations—to get engaged now and help make school attendance a priority.
“This is a collaborative, all-hands-on-deck approach dedicated to the issue of truancy and chronic student absenteeism,” said Mayor Cantrell. “Thanks to all of our partners and stakeholders who have been working together on this issue no matter how complex or challenging it may have been for our city. We understand firsthand how our children, families and schools were impacted by the lack of attendance, and we want to do everything we can to prepare ourselves for the upcoming school year. It truly takes a village and the responsibility of the community as a whole to ensure academic success for our young people.”
In her remarks, NOLA-PS Superintendent Williams explained that missing just 10 percent of the school year can have serious consequences in terms of 3rd grade reading levels and high school graduation rates. She affirmed her commitment to continue to work with school leaders, refine data collection methods and draw from national best practices to improve school attendance district wide.
“NOLA-Public Schools is committed to supporting our community of schools as they work towards helping our scholars achieve good attendance,” said Dr. Williams. “We are also committed to addressing the issue of truancy collaboratively and in partnership with all stakeholders including our scholars and families. This is an urgent matter, and there is more work to do as we understand the barriers to attendance.”
Mayor Cantrell and Dr. Williams were also joined by members of a truancy working group organized by the Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families (OYF), which included participants from NOLA-PS, the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), various charter management organizations, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), the New Orleans City Council, the courts, the District Attorney and other non-profit partners.
Emily Wolff, the Director of OYF, described the truancy working group’s methodology which sourced available data, mapped current local interventions for handling chronic absenteeism, surveyed national best practices and convened focus groups with students. This information was utilized to generate a set of recommendations, which include the need for the following:
- A clear, tiered set of interventions to manage unexcused absences that has roles for community stakeholders, school leaders, NOLA-PS, the court system and NOPD
- Increased capacity and personnel at the district level to conduct truancy check requests and provide adequate case management services
- Comprehensive data collection to track students’ progression through the system
- Deepened collaboration between the court system and NOLA-PS
- An enhanced role for NOPD school resource officers in supporting truancy check requests
- Reinstating regular community canvasing events to increase the business community’s understanding of student employment limitations
OYF will continue to work in collaboration with NOLA-PS, OPSB and others to monitor chronic absenteeism rates and direct resources to addressing this critical challenge.
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