Antoinette Singleton received a phone call from a woman who couldn’t get her granddaughter out of bed to go to school.
Singleton, a social worker at Dr. King School in Syracuse, took matters into her own hands. She went to the grandmother’s house.
“Get up, we’re going to school,” Singleton told the sleepy child who very soon after went to school.
Singleton is a member of Dr. King’s impact team who since 2019 has worked with students and families to help eliminate barriers keeping kids from coming to school. Team members believe student success starts with kids coming to school regularly.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, 33 years,” Singleton said. “Attendance has always been an issue in the school district and it continues to be an issue.”
In the 2020-21 school year, the district had some of the highest rates of chronic absenteeism in middle and elementary school students in New York, ranking 11th, according to the most recent data available from the state Education Department.
“Until you establish and develop a relationship with the families, you’re not going to get anywhere,” Singleton said.
In the last three years, the number of chronically absent students at King has dropped by a third. King is one of 19 Syracuse schools with an impact team. The district is considering creating teams in the other 15 schools.
Students are considered chronically absent by the state when they have missed 10% or more instructional days in a school year. That’s 18 days or more.
The impact team at Dr. King includes other factors when determining if a student is at risk for chronic absenteeism. It looks at the number of absences in the current year, past attendance and personal and family circumstances.
The team consists of eight women who are teachers, social workers and administrators. They meet weekly to discuss their students and how to get them to attend school regularly.
They are planning their neighborhood canvas for August, when they go to students’ homes to get updated contact information, confirm students know when school starts and ask if families need help to get children to the first day of school.
“You’d be surprised at the number of families that don’t know when school starts,” said Liz Kreinheder, a member of the impact team.
But for many families, it is more complicated than that. Students need backpacks, school supplies, clean clothing, vaccinations, transportation, food and haircuts.
The impact team attacks those needs. They wash student’s dirty clothing at the school and arrange rides when kids can’t get to school.
“We had a kid look up the school phone number and call the school one day last week to see if somebody could give him a ride,” said Kreinheder, an administrator. “They want to be in school.”
The team partners with community organizations and others in the district to distribute backpacks, supplies, food and haircuts.
When students’ don’t attend school, team members call their families and make house visits. Singleton said when she visits some parents’ houses, they are familiar faces.
“They were my students when I was over at Danforth,” Singleton said. “So I know them. They’ll say, ‘Miss Antoinette you used to come to my house.’ And I’ll say, ‘Yeah because you didn’t come to school and now I’m coming to your granddaughter’s house because she’s not.’ “
Some students don’t have a permanent home during the school year, moving from house to house or in and out of shelters.
Theresa Collins and her children lived in hotels and shelters during the school year.
When the district could not schedule busing for over a week, the impact team arranged rides to keep Quintin Jr., 7, from missing schools. Team members brought the family dinner, a reprieve for Quintin Jr, who was not eating regularly since he didn’t like the food at the Salvation Army.
“They do a lot,” Collins said of the team. “If you need something, they help out the best they can.”
The family moved into a house in March, making it much easier to prioritize school.
Collins and her children were among families honored by the team at a pizza party in May. They were given a certificate for improving their attendance.
“Even if kids improve from coming late every day to not coming in late, or coming in part time to school three days a week to coming in five days a week, you need to celebrate every little thing,” said Chassidy Vaughn, a member of the impact team.
The team works with parents just as much as students. Getting parents to understand the importance of attending school will impact whether their kids see the importance of attending school, members said.
Trevor Taylor is the great uncle of three students who attend King. He brings them to and from. Taylor says he knows the importance of education, he attends adult classes at the school himself.
“School is a great opportunity to see young people grow.” Taylor said. “I tell them all the time, you need an education.”
He said the kids look forward to coming to school each day because of their teachers.
At a recent meeting of the impact team, members recounted reasons they heard for why students don’t attend school. Oversleeping. Having no food. Babysitting younger siblings. Missing a bus. Pregnancy. Getting an abortion. A jailed father. A vacation.
Kreinheder said the impact team has to “walk a fine line” when addressing reasons parents give for their kids missing school.
“We don’t want to speak down to them,” Kreinheder said. “Because obviously that reason could be important. You’re trying to build a relationship with them.”
But not all families are receptive to the work the impact team does. After being remote due to Covid, some question why children’s schoolwork can’t be dropped off at their house to be completed and returned. Others don’t appreciate the continuous check-ups when their children miss school.
“So I explain, the reason this is happening is because baby’s not in school and we got to have baby in school,” said Kuricheses Alexander, Dr. King principal. “So, if you don’t want us calling, we don’t have to call if baby’s in school.”
Dr. King has decreased its chronic absenteeism rate by 33% over the last three years. That’s 200 students this year down from 298 during the 2020-21 school year.
The school ranks 4th out of the 34 schools in the district for decrease in chronic absenteeism. The top school is Brighton Academy, who also has an impact team and decreased by 42%.
“Our attendance percentages aren’t where they want them to be, ” said Luberta Crouch, who oversees the impact teams. “But this is a really good start and a big step for the Syracuse City School District.”
Watchdog/Public Affairs reporter Melissa Newcomb covers education, including Syracuse University and the city schools. For tips, contact her anytime at [email protected], 315-679-1068, or @melissarnewcomb on Twitter.