Dougherty schools target chronic absenteeism with proposed truancy officer

ALBANY — After chronic absenteeism more than tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dougherty County School System leaders say the district now has enough attendance cases to justify hiring a full-time truancy officer as part of a broader effort to reconnect students and families with schools.

Superintendent Kenneth Dyer outlined the proposal during last week’s Dougherty County Board of Education meeting while presenting district priorities for the upcoming school year, calling chronic absenteeism “a persistent challenge” that continues to affect student achievement despite recent improvements.

“We’re going to continue our efforts, and we’re planning to hire a truancy officer,” Dyer told board members.

The district’s attendance data illustrate both the scale of the problem and the progress officials say has been made.

According to Dyer, Dougherty County’s chronic absenteeism rate stood at 12.3% in 2019 before falling to 9.5% in 2020. Like districts across the nation, however, the system experienced a dramatic increase following the pandemic.

“Keeping with trends across the country, chronic absenteeism rates spiked … to almost 32.5% in 2022,” Dyer said.

Although attendance has improved since then, Dyer said the pace of improvement remains slower than district leaders would like.

“We’ve begun our efforts to impact chronic absenteeism, and as you can see, we’ve had a decline, but the decline is, in my opinion, not steep enough,” he said.

The superintendent said administrators are evaluating additional strategies that will eventually be presented to the school board.

“We have plans in place to impact chronic absenteeism in our school system, which is a persistent challenge,” Dyer said. “We’re vetting some interventions right now that we’ll bring to the board.”

Among those interventions, Dyer identified restoring a full-time truancy officer as a priority.

“I think a significant piece would be to add a truancy officer to make home visits to ensure students are attending and parents are aware of the issue,” he said.

Board members questioned how parents would be involved and whether the district would ultimately hold families accountable when students repeatedly miss school.

District 1 board member Carolyn Hand asked whether parents would receive formal notification once students become truant.

“Will, once done and completed, the parents be notified about truancy?” Hand asked.

Dyer said the district already has an established notification process and is working with multiple community partners to address attendance before legal action becomes necessary.

“The committee that started meeting last year was charged with putting together a comprehensive community-wide plan to impact chronic absenteeism,” Dyer said.

He said the initiative extends beyond the school system.

“The court system is involved; we have a Student Attendance Advisory Board,” he said. “If a student misses so many days, parents get notifications, and if it becomes excessive, it could end up in the court system where parents could be held accountable.”

Even so, Dyer emphasized that prosecution is intended to be the final step, not the first.

“Of course, that’s the stick, and we want that to be a last resort,” he said. “We’re trying to put interventions in place so we won’t get to that point.”

The superintendent said the district once employed a truancy officer and believes current attendance rates justify bringing the position back.

“I think the missing piece we have now is a truancy officer,” Dyer said. “We used to have one. I think based on the rates that we have, we have enough volume for a full-time truancy officer on staff.”

Board members expressed support for pairing intervention with accountability.

“I just want to echo what Dr. Hand stated: enforcement is essential,” District 5 board member the Rev. James Bush said. “I don’t think you have to be mean, but I think you have to be firm to let the parents know that we are concerned about that.”

Dyer agreed that parental involvement remains central to improving attendance, particularly among younger students.

“When a child in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade has an attendance issue, it’s not the child,” he said.

Instead, he said, the district wants to strengthen communication with parents while helping families understand the long-term importance of consistent attendance.

“We want to improve engagement with parents and help them understand that attendance does matter,” Dyer said.

He also suggested that lingering attitudes formed during the pandemic continue to influence attendance habits.

“I think one of the things that happened with COVID is people started thinking if you don’t make it, you can do it virtually,” he said. “But attendance does matter, particularly in education.”

Dyer concluded by describing chronic absenteeism as a community challenge rather than solely a school issue, saying the district will continue working with families, the courts and other local partners to improve attendance.

“We want to engage our village to assist because this is a community issue, not just Dougherty County, not just Georgia, but nationwide,” he said.

In addition to the proposed truancy officer, Dyer said the district plans to launch a Parent University program designed to provide parents with additional tools and resources to support their children’s academic success, describing it as another component of the district’s broader effort to improve student outcomes through stronger family engagement.