San Francisco school truancy program gets grant

San Francisco school truancy program gets grant:

"A day after San Francisco school officials outlined a desperate plan to cut costs that included boosting class sizes and cutting summer school, city leaders on Wednesday countered with an announcement of new federal funds to help chronically truant students get back on track."



The news was some relief for a school system facing a $113 million budget shortfall over two years and the elimination of programs aimed at helping struggling students.


The federal two-year, $238,000 grant might sound like a drop in the bucket by comparison, but it will give 30 more chronically truant high school students at a time the chance to catch up in academic credits through the Center of Academic Re-entry and Empowerment housed in the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA. Enrollment is currently limited to about 23 students.
The 2-year-old program has served 124 formerly truant teens - some of whom hadn't seen the inside of a school for more than a year. So far, 68 percent have finished the nine-week program and re-enrolled in a city high school. Six students have graduated.


The U.S. Department of Children, Youth and Families pays the $250,000 annual costs.