Retired state trooper now truancy officer

The school district has taken a step to fight tardiness and absenteeism with the recent hiring of a truancy officer.

 http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201002050348             Springfield schools hire truancy officer Rutland Herald By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: February 5, 2010 SPRINGFIELD — The school district has taken a step to fight tardiness and absenteeism with the recent hiring of a truancy officer. By a unanimous vote Monday night, the School Board appointed Kevin Anderson to be the truancy officer for the high school and the middle school. "This is something we've needed for some time and we're lucky to have found someone with his experience," said Superintendent Frank Perotti. Anderson, 53, is a Springfield resident with decades of experience in law enforcement, beginning with the Springfield Police Department in 1978 and continuing with the State Police, which he joined in 1982 and retired from in 2006 with the rank of captain. Anderson's new job, about 10 hours a week at $23 an hour, is paid for through a federal drug-prevention grant. Anderson began on Tuesday by meeting with school administrators to identify students with chronic truancy or absenteeism problems. "Obviously, you have to look at the reason for the attendance issue, so there will be follow-up I will do with students and families and the guidance department," Anderson said. "It may require, at times, going to a home and meeting with the family and picking up a student and bringing him to school." Anderson said he will learn and address the unique circumstances for each student. "I think every student, and I don't know this for sure yet, but my guess is every student situation is going to be different and we'll have to evaluate what the problem has been and how we can fix it," he said. Truancy is a problem in Springfield, with about 10 percent of students in grades six through 12 — about 70 students – having persistent attendance problems, said Vincent Hawkins, director of curriculum, assessment and instruction for the district. "We're aware we have a number of kids who don't come to school for a variety of reasons," Hawkins said. "Often, the struggle is that there is nobody home, no parent to call." In the past, truancy enforcement was the job of the principals. The money that funds Anderson's position was left over from a rejected SRO position. "Me personally, I would have loved to have a school resource officer in the schools. The right person with the right personality as a school resource officer can really work wonders with the kids," Anderson said. The position is funded through the end of the school year.