School Attendance

• Absent two (2) or more days without a note or contact from the parent or guardian

• Absent once a week on a regular basis (when a pattern develops)

• Chronic lateness

• Skipping classes

• Patterns of absences develop whether the child brings a note or not and an investigation would be done

Duties of School Attendance Officers:

1. Home Visits
2. School Visits
3. Attendance Counseling
4. Liaison with allied agencies (police dept., social services, guidance counselors etc.)
5. Obtain and investigate referrals from the school or other sources
6. Assist parents in placing children in school

The Board of Education was established under the Act of Assembly 27 Victoria Chapter #35 on July 1st, 1864. In this act can be found clauses on "popular education" which initiated the embryonic stage of the School Welfare Section.

In 1872 it was felt that irregular attendance would be diminished if teachers could organize a regular system of inquiry at the house of parents to investigate the cause of children's absence from school. In addition to their salaries a small grant of two shillings was given to the teacher for each child they brought back to school. This exercise did not prove to be successful because of the following reasons:

1. Parents were apathetic and indifferent to the educational system (it was not mandatory for black children to attend school in the past so education was foreign to the community and not seen as important).
   
2. Parents gave poor excuses for their children not attending school.
   
3. The real reason why children were not attending school was not researched.

The question of school attendance has its origin in the early stages of progressive education in The Bahamas. In 1878 the first compulsory clauses of school attendance were passed and number 63 S.J. Wood was appointed Constable to ensure regular school attendance.

As early as 1879 the Constable encountered problems with children on the street and teachers reported cases when students were absent for 3 to 4 days without an excuse.
From the records, it appears that absentee cases were brought before the court on Saturdays.

In 1889 compulsory school attendance was enforced on the Out Islands as a result of a pilot study in New Providence, which showed that compulsory school attendance brought about favorable results. act and parents were fined 10 shillings ($1.43) for the first offence, 1 pound ($2.86) for the second offence, and 2 pounds ($5.72) if the child was kept away from school unnecessarily (third offence).

The duties of the Constable now included the following:

1. Keeping an accurate record of each case.
2. Visiting all public schools in Nassau once weekly to obtain a list of absentees.
3. Submit daily reports to the Secretary of duties performed and names of absentees.
4. Report to the guardroom at 8:00a.m. daily except Sunday.

In 1943 the post of constable was abolished and Truant Officers Mr. Solomon B. Armbrister and Donald Oscar Murray were appointed. These officers found that the reasons given for absenteeism were:

1. babysitting
2. shortage of clothing
3. illness
4. truanting
5. indifferent parents
6. registering children from the family islands to school in Nassau for short periods of time.
7. Working in the fields ( farming)
8. Long distances from school

In 1952, it was realized that because females were also absent from school it was necessary to appoint a female officer to investigate cases of absenteeism. (officer not appointed until 1979-Mrs. Nora Thompson) In 1955 Mr. Milton Toppin was appointed as Senior Attendance Officer to coordinate the work of the attendance officers. During that period habitual absentees were referred to Juvenile Court and the magistrate ordered that the following could happen to offenders of the school attendance laws:

1. sent to Boys Industrial School
2. bound over the peace
3. dismissed
4. whipped

In 1961 the then Board of Education reviewed the problem of truancy and concluded that there were two (2) aspects of truancy:

1. absenteeism of children who were registered
   
2. the problem of " underground " children who were not registered at school.(unregistered children)

The director of education at that time, Mr. T.P. Lightbody, suggested that a School Attendance Section be established with a Welfare Officer in charge to coordinate the work of the teams eg. Attendance Officers who would be responsible for the unregistered children. The Welfare Officer would be responsible for investigating the social problems because it became evident that persistent absenteeism had a social problem behind it. It was realized that poor attendance was a result of other underlying problems. As a result of critical and constructive evaluation of the work of the Attendance Officers, the plan for the establishment of the School Welfare Section came to fruition in 1969 with Mr. Frederick Carnie, an Englishman, as the first School Welfare Officer assisted by four (4) Attendance Officer (Mr. Ernest Ingraham), Mr. John McCartney, Mr. Patrick Ingraham and Mr. George Astwood). Two Trainee School Social Workers, Miss Jessica Minnis and Miss Anette Chambers a Trinidadian were appointed in September 1969. Mrs. Andrea Archer a professional Medico- Social Counselor and registered nurse was appointed as a Trainee School Social Worker in November 1970, and as a School Social Worker in May 1971; and thus the School Welfare Team began pioneering in School Social Work in The Bahamas. Carolyn L. Hanna, Education Officer for Special Services, succeeded him as Senior Education Officer, and was responsible for the Administration of the School Welfare Section. In 1975 Miss Hanna was granted an in-service award and Mrs. Andrea Archer, Senior School Social Worker, was appointed to act as School Welfare Officer until her appointment as the first Bahamian School Welfare Officer in 1978.

In 1979 Miss Nora Thompson was appointed the first female School Attendance Officer. In 1979 the School Welfare Department consisted of the following workers:

• One (1) School Welfare Officer
• One (1) Senior School Social Worker
• Nine (9) School Social Workers
• Six (6) Trainee School Social Workers
• One (1) Senior Attendance Officer
• Three (3) Attendance Officers
• Seven (7) Assistant Attendance officers

In 1984 the staff compliment was:

• One (1) Chief Welfare Officer
• Three (3) Senior School Social Workers
• Ten (10) School Social Workers
• Four (4) Trainee School Social Workers
• One (1) Senior Attendance Officer
• Three (3) Attendance Officers
• Seven (7) Assistant Attendance Officers

In 1992 School Attendance was separated from School Welfare.The Unit consisted of the following:

• One (1) Social Worker
• Three (3) Attendance Officers
• Five (5) Assistant Attendance Officers

On October 9th, 1996 the education act was revised. The mandatory school age was changed from 5 to 14 years of age to 5 to 16 years of age. This meant that it was a criminal offence for a child to be absent from school once they are between the ages of 5 and 16 years of age. They are also required to attend school from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. The act states the following:

1. (Section 24)- "It shall be the duty of the parents of every child of compulsory school age to cause him/her to receive full-time education suitable to his/her age, ability and aptitude, by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
   
2. A pupil is allowed to attend school after the age of nineteen years of age if they are benefiting from the educational opportunities provided by that school.
   
3. If these laws are violated a parent could be charged a fine not exceeding $50.00 for the first offence, a fine not exceeding $75.00 for the second offence, and a fine not exceeding $100.00 for the third offence and/or one month in prison."

In September 1997 Anzlo Strachan (Attendance officer) took over the responsibility of supervising the Attendance Unit, and in 1998 Attendance Officers were stationed in schools for the first time. Previously Attendance Officers operated from the Ministry of Education compound and visited their assigned schools two to three times a week. The staff consisted of nine (9) officers, one of which operates out of Freeport Grand Bahama. Attendance officers, but this is not an indication that the problem does not exist. Absenteeism is an educational, social, and law enforcement problem. It is a symptom of other underlying problems. It is the result of one or more factors is a child's life, such as a lack of community support, an unsupportive school environment, a chaotic family life, low self esteem, negative peer pressure, negative media exposure etc. Because the causes and contributing of truancy are diverse, a collaborated approach from the school, home, and community is required to combat this problem.