Getting kids to go to class - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Getting kids to go to class

By: Kate Pabich
kpabich@cbs4qc.com

If your student skips class, you could end up paying big bucks. The Galesburg school district is working to get kids to back to their desks.

If a student plays hookie more than 9 times a school year, they're not only not learning, but they could get a ticket. District 205 has been working on an attendance initiative over the past couple of years and it seems to doing the trick.

So far the district has seen a 2% increase in students coming to class. Here's how it works, truancy officers get a list of unexcused absences each morning and start making the rounds.

It depends on each student and how often they miss class but a $75 ticket could be given to either their parents or the student. And if you're wondering how a kid can come up with that kind of cash, a lot of times, truancy officers say they work it off.

"I don't expect a 13-year-old to say hey here's 75 bucks it's probably going to be worked out in the courts in community service. Like the last ticket I wrote the kid was 13 I think he served 20 hours of community service that's what the judge ordered him to do."

Teachers at Lombard Jr. High are also doing what they can to keep kids coming to class. Some students have to check in and out with an assigned teacher each day and if they have a perfect week, they get rewarded.