They're Baaack!

In Charlotte North Carolina, school officials are trying (registration required) an effective but old-fashioned method to address the never-ending problem of student absenteeism. Let's take a peek:

Police officer Mike Grande knew the boy couldn't be far.

He had seen the 14-year-old walking toward West Mecklenburg High School, but an assistant principal told him the kid never showed up.

So Grande searched and soon found the boy at a bus stop, planning to ditch classes. Between suspensions and skips, it would have been about the 45th time he'd missed school in less than 100 days. One of those days, Grande had arrested him on breaking and entering.

Grande called the kid's mother. Later, he and a social worker dropped the boy off at home. "We want to explore what we can do to help her out and help her son and get him in school," Grande said.

Grande is one of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' three new truant officers, police who have been reassigned full time to schools to keep kids in class and push their parents to keep a closer eye on them.

It's part of the so-called high school challenge, a three-year push to boost achievement at three struggling schools. Police and principals say it's working: Attendance is up and crime is down.

Duh. I guess what is old is new again. Read the article to learn more.

To view The Carnival Of Education: Week 2, please click here.

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