** NEED HELP (Advice) please read ***

[Jefpainthorse]

Sorry...but if you say it's "2 to 7 minutes" late... you should leave the house 2 to 7 minutes earlier.

We have a similar situation... working rotating shifts... out of town work... the whole 9 yards. Somedays my wife stays up a while longer than she has too...other days I have to adjust my day to make sure things happen.

They should have asked you what's up before they turned you over though.

 

[Blinocac200sx]

I am a school teacher. The problem isn't tardies. The problem is that 3 unexcused tardies add up to 1 absence. After the child gets a given number of absences the local district attorney is contacted by the school district. Cleveland county is able to afford buses right? Put them on a bus, that way if they are late it's the bus drivers fault and the tardies are not counted. Riding to school with ma and pa is always preferrable to a kid, BUT if tardies are a problem and you have the DA breathing down your neck.... put them on a school bus.

So, do you make it a habit to leave your children alone without adult supervision? Why is the guy who is specifically watching out for his kids safety at fault?

 

[RidgeHunter]

I'm not excusing the kids being late all the time; I just think using the DA's office to inform parents they need to get their kids to school on time is completely and utterly asinine (unless there is more to the story we don't know about). This is exactly the result of it - making parents and children angry at the school. It solves nothing and in fact makes things worse. Call the parents, maybe have a face to face meeting with them like actual people, and solve the problem like adults. And I bet the same school admins wonder why parent-faculty relations are strained.

I'm a bit sad for all the kids that have to go to public school nowadays. It was still kinda fun when I was there. Gets more ridiculous every year.

 

[Honey Badger]

So, do you make it a habit to leave your children alone without adult supervision? Why is the guy who is specifically watching out for his kids safety at fault?

They are at fault because the kids are showing up to school late. Whether it is happening intentionally or completely by accident the districts hands are tied. The law cannot be ammended on a case by case basis.

 

[Honey Badger]

I'm not excusing the kids being late all the time; I just think using the DA's office to inform parents they need to get their kids to school on time is completely and utterly asinine (unless there is more to the story we don't know about). This is exactly the result of it - making parents and children angry at the school. It solves nothing and in fact makes things worse. Call the parents, maybe have a face to face meeting with them like actual people, and solve the problem like adults. And I bet the same school admins wonder why parent-faculty relations are strained.

I'm a bit sad for all the kids that have to go to public school nowadays. It was still kinda fun when I was there. Gets more ridiculous every year.

A lot times a simple phone call to a parent doesn't work. A call from the DA regarding the problem creates a little shock factor that wakes some people up. You wanna solve the problem? Get the kids to school on time! Problem solved!

 

[loudshirt]

Truancy has gotten far more serious than it used to be. Somewhere in state law it requires a certain amount of absences to be reported to the DA and charges can be filed for children not attending school.

I didn't know anything about this either till I was sent by the Sheriff I was working for at the time to go to the northern part of the state to pick up a mother who was in another jail that had a warrant put out on her for "Failure to require children attend school", and transport her back. She had a $1000.00 release bond.

I dont really think it is playing into this situation but the reason Truancy is a bigger issue than it used to be is average daily attendance. All public schools are funded based on average daily attendance. That is why schools are shut down a bit longer than needed for winter weather. It is also why some smaller schools took a couple days off over the past couple of years when a significant number of students had the flu. If the average daily attendance goes down the money goes down.

Just a question to the OP when you or your wife pull up to the school how far away are you? Would it be quicker for the kids to walk from a corner while you watch than it is for you to wait until you get to a drop off point? I am not trying to Monday morning QB this, I am just offering help to keep you from getting into more trouble with the school and or DA.

 

[smcgee10]

I would tell them to pound sand. It appears that the school must administer an oral AND documented or written warning prior to being reported. I would also talk to the Sup or Principal to let them know of their sidestepping the protocols of truancy reporting. I would keep a log of drop off times and such to CYA. But that is just me. I like to stir $&!+ up! Check Line C Item 3.

 

[Honey Badger]

That rule varies from district to district.... I'd check my info on that one.

 

[RidgeHunter]

A lot times a simple phne call to a parent doesn't work. A call from the DA regarding the problem creates a little shock factor that wakes some people up. You wanna solve the problem? Get the kids to school on time! Problem solved!

Agree to disagree I guess. The lack of respect parents/students have for the school faculty/admins these days is at least partly fueled by things exactly like this in my opinion. I can understand DA involvement if the issue is being neglected by the parents, but for the DA office to be the first avenue the school tries, before a phone call or meeting with the parents...is simply ridiculous. Only way I'd disagree is if the OP is not telling us the truth about this being the "first they'd heard from the school".

I'm pretty young, and didn't go to a tiny school, but there was an actual relationship between the parents, teachers, principals and students. You got your kids to school on time because that was the right thing to do, and you actually had respect for the folks there and didn't want to disappoint them. Not because you were scared of a call from the DA.

Kids being 2-7 minutes late sure sounds like a problem that the school and the parents of the children could at least try to solve on their own without the involvement of law enforcement.

 

[dutchwrangler]

private school,you will never win with the government bureaucracy

Winner!

Parents who send their children to public schools are guilty of child abuse.