Despite Truancy and Attendance Problems, San Francisco Lays Off Monitors
Layoff notices handed out seven months after city launches anti-truancy campaign
Despite a staggering truancy rate, the San Francisco Unified School District intends to lay nearly half of the staff members charged with monitoring students absences.
Pink slips went out this week to 61 of 151 teachers' aides, who help in the classroom and serve as liaisons between the district and families of struggling students. The aides phone parents of truant children, arrange for social services support, and provide translation services for families who are not native English speakers.
The move comes seven months after former Mayor Gavin Newsom teamed up with district officials to launch an anti-truancy campaign. Newsom enlisted the city's Juvenile Probation Department and other government agencies to encourage businesses and individuals to report suspected truants to the police.
Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/12i6g)