Dear Natchitoches Parish,
I am writing to you to inform you of some changes that may affect you in the upcoming school year. Over the past 4 years, Natchitoches Parish Schools have made huge strides academically. These academic improvements have set us apart from other districts in the state. There is still a significant amount of work to be done, but we are very proud of our academic improvements thus far and intend on continuing that upward trajectory.
Over this year, we have started to look inwardly at what else needs to be improved in our district. Routinely, we kept coming back to several things, most urgent of which was student attendance and truancy. As of today, our district has an average daily attendance of 90%, which seems fine until you realize that means that around 500 students a day are not in school. Of course, some are sick, but many others are simply not in attendance.
Even more worrying, some could be engaging in activities outside of the law while absent. 46% of our students are considered truant, meaning they have 5 or more absences. 32% of our students have 12 or more absences. You might assume that this is a problem most closely associated with our high school students, but most of our truant students are absent in grade levels where the fault rests with the parent, not the child.
Nationwide chronic absenteeism has become a post-Covid reality. Unfortunately, segments of our population now look at education as an option, despite our state’s compulsory attendance laws. The simple truth is, the more absent a student is the more likely they are to struggle in school, engage in disruptive behaviors and ultimately not graduate on time or at all. Obviously, this is not good for our students or schools, but it will not bode well for the future of our city and parish.
That is why, I am informing you now that I am declaring war on chronic absenteeism. That may sound melodramatic but when you consider the hardships chronic absenteeism creates for a person over their lifetime, I think it is wholly appropriate.
Over the course of the last 6 months, we have reorganized district staff to create a department whose sole focus is attendance, behavior, and wellness. We have created partnerships with the city, business, law enforcement, judges, and the district attorney’s office to address this problem as a community wide team. We want everyone to know we are taking this problem seriously. We have also added a district truancy officer to our team who, along with school resource officers, will be making at home visits as early as the first week of school to those not in attendance.
If you bring your student to school or a!low us to work with you through wrap around services to get your student to school, you will have no concern. On the other hand, if you do not believe that your student’s attendance is important, then you will have our undivided attention. We will take all the means at our disposal to ensure that your child receives not only the best education possible, but also a consistent one. That could mean in the most extreme cases, involving the judicial system. It is my responsibility as Superintendent of Natchitoches Parish Schools to protect students and ensure they are educated and I am excited to partner with local law enforcement and the District Attorney to make sure this happens.
I am writing you now so everyone can be aware of the stance we are taking, which is “Your child needs to be in school.”‘ You will notice that I have the following signatures on this letter: myself, the school board, city council, Mayor, Sheriff, Chief of Police, and District Attorney. All signatures signify a unified front of our community leaders to address chronic absenteeism. We ask that If you believe in this endeavor that you partner with us and spread the word that a!I students should be in school.
As always, it is our highest priority is student learning and our greatest responsibility is student safety.
Signed,
Dr. Grant Eloi, NPSB Superintendent
Ronnie Williams, Mayor of Natchitoches
Laura Lyles, Chamber President
Stuart Wright, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff
Rosemary Washington-Elie, City Council member
Betty Sawyer-Smith, City Council member-at-large
Russ Danzy, School Board Vice-President
Billy Benefield, School Board President
Tan’keia Palmer, School Board member
Lela Harvey, School Board member
Chad Fredieu, School Board member
Micah Nicholson, School Board member
Dale Nielsen, City Council member
Emile Metoyer, School Board member
Steven Harris, School Board member
Dorothy McGaskey, School Board member
Reba Phelps, School Board member
Barbie Page, School Board member
Eddie Harrington, City Council member
