Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, has become a major problem in communities across the nation. While creating an obvious threat to students' academic progress, truant behavior also serves as a strong indicator of dysfunction in many other domains of a young person's life (e.g., peers, family, community). Left unaddressed, truancy can contribute to myriad problems during the school years and into adulthood. According to the Manual to Combat Truancy, prepared by the U.S. Department of Education in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, "Truancy is the first sign of trouble; the first indicator that a young person is giving up and losing his or her way. When young people start skipping school, they are telling their parents, school officials and the community at large that they are in trouble and need our help if they are to keep moving forward in life."

This event is designed to enhance your understanding of truancy and provide you with the information you need to promote school attendance among students in your communities. It will run for two weeks, from Monday, May 3 through Friday, May 14. During the first week, National Center staff will facilitate the on-line discussion among event participants on a regular basis. This means that staff will monitor and contribute to the discussion several times each day and provide daily summaries of participants' questions and comments. The second week is primarily intended for participants to continue their exploration of event resources as well as any discussions with fellow coordinators that began the week before; Center staff will provide periodic facilitation during the second week of this event.

During this event, you will have the opportunity to do the following:

• Examine the nature of truancy, including its varied causes and consequences

• Explore three levels of antitruancy strategies (prevention, early intervention, and legal intervention) that can help you reduce truant behavior among youth

• Review key elements of a comprehensive approach to dealing with truancy, assess the status of your school's truancy prevention plan, and explore additional resources that can further inform your truancy prevention efforts

You are ready to begin this event if you have done the following:

• Received confirmation of your registration

• Visited the Center's Orientation to On-Line Events Web site

References:

Garry, E. M. (1996). Truancy: First step to a lifetime of problems. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. (1996). Manual to combat truancy. Washington, DC: Author.

This on-line event is offered to you by the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Drug Prevention and School Safety Program Coordinators with funding from the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education. The content of this course was produced by Education Development Center, Inc. under U.S. Department of Education Contract No. ED-01-CO-0026/0013 with the American Institutes for Research. Amalia Cuervo served as the contracting officer's technical representative.