A local program aims to keep kids in the classroom.
The School Attendance and Diversion Program has been tackling the problem of irregular attendance in the Ross County school system. Glenn Chester, a truancy officer from the Juvenile Court, said schools are instructed to call home when a student misses class: "If they don't get good contact, they send out, what we call, a friendly letter, with one or three days unexcused absences."
If contact is not successfully made, the parents are instructed to meet with Chester. Some of these parents will be directed to a 3-hour parenting class through the Ross County Sheriff.
"If that's not effective, well, then we go to the chronic process," he said, "Chronic is when we file and take them to court."
Chester said they handled 94 chronic cases in the last school year.
Adena has the highest attendance rate of 94.83%, while Paint Valley reported the lowest at 93.39%, according to a report from the School Attendance and Diversion Program.
