Winnipeg School Division shifting some class schedules to address absenteeism

Some students in Winnipeg's largest school division will either be starting classes an hour later or going home an hour earlier for one day each week to give staff more time to address high rates of absenteeism.

The initiative is in response to data that shows close to 2,500 students within the Winnipeg School Division,most of whom are in high school,are struggling to get to school.

The school division's superintendent, Matt Henderson, says if that many students are missing class regularly, educators need to come together to figure out solutions.

"We needed a bit of flex time to do that, and so late start/early dismissal is a way to just create that space," he said in a Friday interview with CBC'sInformation Radio.

Starting in February, several high schools in the division will be implementing either a late start or early dismissal day every week, the division said in a letter to parents this week.

That will give staff more time to determine which students have been missing, make phonecalls and organize home visits, the letter said.

The pilot project will take place at Daniel McIntyre, Tech Voc, Kelvin, Children of the Earth and Gordon Bell.

While some of the time will be used to reach out to absent studentsand their parents, itwill also be used to brainstorm ways to reduce barriers that keep those students from coming to school, Henderson said.

"Because the stakes are high when we have a society that is not educated. That has implications for our democracy. That has implications for when we're on the gurney and we're looking up and we need surgery," he said.

"This is not just a Winnipeg School Division problem. This is a Winnipeg problem."

The lost class time will be made up in June, Henderson said.

While he said he understands someparents might be concerned aboutthe scheduling change,continuing with the status quo isn't an option.

"Our graduation rates are not great, particularly for racialized kids, and if we're intent on creating a just and sustainable society we need every kid feeling like they belong in high school," he said.

Some kids difficult to reach

But the head of an organization which provides programming for low-income and at-risk youth in the North End says the problem is far greater than most people realize.

Kent Dueck, the executive director of Inner City Youth Alive, says their staff have met some kids who haven't been in school for years. When the problem gets that bad, it can be hard to reach those kids, he said.

"You can't go cold and knock on a door and just invite a kid to school. That's avery Pollyanna sort of view of how we're going to do this," he said.

A lot of kids who haven't been going to school are facing difficulties at home and are just living in survival mode, he said.

"If school has some kind of a negative meaning for them, then it's going to be very, very difficult to motivate them to get there," he said.

That being said, Dueck applauded the Winnipeg School Division for taking steps to address the issue.

"I'm very excited about the fact that we're finally talking about this and in a candid,open way."

Winnipeg School Division unveils new measure to combat student absenteeism

8 months ago

Duration 2:28

Some students in Winnipegs largest school division will either be starting classes an hour later or going home an hour earlier for one day each week to give staff more time to address high rates of absenteeism.