I was just looking at the poll the Chattanoogan has on regarding truancy. I do have a couple of opinions regarding this.

I'll start out by saying that in the Hamilton County schools, students are allowed to miss five days of school per year. Anything after that is considered truancy and one will be expected to have a doctor's note for each absence following that. And if there is no doctor's note, then you will have to go to an informal hearing at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court.

And, if it happens again, then they can basically start proceedings to add fines, up to possibly removing the child from the home. From my understanding this is the gist of it. Oh, and I believe that three tardies is equal to an absence.

OK, my first thought is this. I know that there are some children that actually skip school, and some parents that are negligent and don't care. But then there are some kids that actually are sick and need to stay home.

I don't know about anyone else, but a lot of times my daughter is sick and when the doctor's office is called we are told to keep her home, give her OTC meds and, if things are not better by the next day, then to call and make an appointment to physically see the doctor.

My biggest issue with this truancy thing is that who is to say what is an excused absence and what is not? Mrs. Barker?

Don't get me wrong, skipping school is obviously not an excused absence, but not every kid that misses more that five days of school should be considered truant. It offends me that this label is being placed on everyone as a whole when obviously every situation is not going to be the same. Why am I not receiving a phone call from the school when my child has missed seven days. The school social worker should be calling me to find out why, not sending me a letter that states this is a "legal document" and blah, blah, blah. Whatever happened to being pro-active.

We all know that the social worker system has dropped the ball in way too many cases for years and now that it is starting to hit the fan, everyone is suspect.

I really do believe that truancy is a problem in our schools, but don't micro-manage me because a six-year-old little girl that had missed 60 days of school in the first semester got burned really badly while at home during school hours. Who was the social worker at this particular school and why had this not been addressed?

But true to Hamilton County's character, the "it's not my fault" mentality prevails. Why is the school board and that social worker not being held accountable? Why, given all their training and supposed expertise, can't these social workers find out which cases are true truancy and which cases aren't? Why? Does anyone know?

Dana Moore
Hixson

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It is simple as this, it starts at home. Hold the parent or parents responsible. Stop blaming the school social worker, whose job is to help students at school, not to babysit your kids when their at home.

Stop blaming the police when your 12-year-old kid is shot by a drive by shooting in front of your house at 2:30 a.m. on a school night playing basketball, when he should have been asleep, preparing for a school day, (not to take the kid getting shot was any way justified because he was outside very late).

You can hold the social worker, principal accountable for not enforcing dress codes, student I.D. badges and school start up time as well as any schools rules that should be put in place to help students learn.

Don't change schools rules because of one student's heritage may not be understood by another of a different race or gender. Don't change the principal or social worker because they tried to enforce a dress code and students I.D. badges to help protect the students when their at school for learning. If students dress like thugs on the street at school it makes it easy for the thugs to get into the school unnoticed. Schools rules should be enforced at every school. No school should be allowed to change school start times because a small percentage of students can't get to school on time each day. Early to bed, early to rise.

Bus schedules and school schedules need to fit the route there set for and adjustments can be made early in the school year, not because of those parents whom can't get their kids up for school. Remember it starts at home. Parents, it is our responsibility to see our children get an education, but the kids have to be in class to get an education. Ask your children how they are doing, ask their teachers how are my children doing and what can I as a parent do to help.

It's simple, it starts at home, get involved with your children, do their home work together, call and ask a teacher if you need help. My wife has done very well with my daughter and it shows.

If Hamilton County schools need to see a school system that works with these rules, the superintendent, principals and teachers need to drive north to Bradley County-The Cleveland City High School, whom have used these rule for over 25 years. They have different genders, race among their students but the rules are the same for all students and the students and parents know the rules and obey them. Go see and you will be amazed.

The Hamilton County schools do need some changes, but the first change needs to be at home.

C. Stapp
Chattanooga

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Mr. Stapp using the Cleveland School system as the model of diversity would be appropriate if the Cleveland School system had any school that was 90% white as Signal Mountain schools or 90% African American as Howard High. In terms of diversity, the Cleveland system has only 15% diversity system wide, where the Hamilton County system has over 33%.

Cleveland's school system has substantially less child poverty on a per capita basis. Child poverty and segregation in education drive this problem, and the justice system cannot fix children in need of resources and support.

The local justice system's recently offered to treat these children as adults as a measure to fix the Hamilton County education system. We assume this offer would make the children from poverty subject to the same revolving door justice system currently in place, with a pattern of forgiveness in the form of pretrial diversion, and a multitude of probation sentences to ensure that revolving door keeps moving. It would be better to give these children the resources they need to stop to ensure they do not enter this revolving door system.

The justice system taking on the complexities of the educational system is the same as our former sheriff teaching ethics to Tennessee Waltz participant.

A. Graham