Keeping track of truants

SHANE WENZLICK

A WATCHFUL EYE: From left, Selwyn College pupils Mark Balazs, 14, teacher Irene Nenadic and Tia-Mariana Roos, 14, look over the new computerised system used for tracking students who have not turned up to school.

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SELWYN College is one of the first schools in the country trialling a new truancy-monitoring system.

The Education Ministry trial allows the school and parents to track a student's attendance throughout each period of the day.

Parents can log into the school's intranet system from work or home and see if their child has been in class.

Principal Sheryll Ofner says parents have been signing up "in droves" since the new system was adopted earlier this month.

"When I showed it to parents they were just blown away – it's quite exciting," she says.

"I'm sure it's the way of the future."

About 20 schools are trialling the initiative and have to report back to the ministry about its progress.

The ministry plans for the software to be delivered to 150 more schools later in the year.

Teachers electronically record attendance at the start of each period and, if an absence is unexplained, the student attendance officer will either text or phone parents to inform them of their child's absence.

Ms Ofner says monitoring a student's attendance period by period is "the key thing".

"There is a real improvement because in the past we had marked their attendance at the beginning of each day and it wasn't done again until the next morning."

It's also about "forging a partnership with parents", Ms Ofner says.

"And making the student feel as if they're part of the school community – keeping them engaged."

A nationwide survey conducted in June last year by the ministry showed more than 30,000 students cut class each day.

It hopes the truancy-monitoring system will help bring this number down.

Year 10 students Mark Balazs, 14, and Tia-Mariana Roos, 14, say that while they regularly attend class, the new system will encourage their peers to do the same.

"In the end the research is very clear – attendance is critical to achievement," Ms Ofner says.

"The sequence of learning is interrupted if the students are wagging."

- © Fairfax NZ News