Dale Junior High School and South Junior High School, both in AUHSD, are two of the newest schools to enroll in AIM’s program. Together, the schools have entered 32 seventh and eighth grade students into the program, said Elizabeth Novack, AUHSD superintendent. As of press time, the program had recorded only four unexcused absences since the schools enrolled. The students check in with an adult mentor, referred to as a coach, several times a week.
“We hire and train a dedicated group of coaches who develop lasting relationships with their students,” Wilson said, adding that coaches go through a strict vetting and background check and have a history of working with at-risk youth.
AUHSD is piloting the program for six weeks in response to a wave of truancy.
Novack said the schools have seen a 95- to 98-percent improvement in student attendance in the two weeks since they’ve implemented the program.
For more news about dropout prevention programs, see:
eSN Special Report: Keeping students on a path toward graduation
The mobile GPS tracking devices are handheld devices, and students are required to enter an identification code several times a day: when they wake up, when they arrive at school, after lunch, and at 8 p.m. If the students are not where they are supposed to be at these times, the GPS device provides a way for them to be located.
Wilson said the technology allows students to take responsibility for their education and whereabouts.
“[It] gets students into a steady routine, a positive behavior change,” said Wilson. He also said the devices give students an excuse to “opt out” of situations where they might feel pressured by their peers.
While AUHSD is the first California district to use the GPS tracking devices to curb truancy, they also are in use in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas.
According to AIM, students attending schools in which the GPS devices are in place average daily attendance increases from 77 to 95 percent, and they also experience better grades and fewer behavioral issues.
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