Solution sought for truancy among Hispanic students
About 100 people attend workshop organized by Latino Christian Ministers' Network
By ELISABETH HULETTE, Staff Writer
Published August 21, 2008
School and police officials are concerned a growing truancy problem among some Hispanic students at Annapolis High is leading to crime and gang activity and could land immigrant parents in deportation hearings.

About 40 to 45 Hispanic students regularly leave during the school day to go to the mall, the movies and even unsupervised parties, local officials said at an Annapolis workshop last night. That's increased over the past few years from a group of 10 who frequently skipped school.

"The problem continues, and it's growing," Peggy Wheeler, head of the English language department at Annapolis High, said in Spanish to the group gathered at the workshop. "The promise of this country is there's opportunities for students, but they can't get them if they're not in school."

Last night's workshop held at Annapolis Area Christian School was organized by the Latino Christian Ministers' Network of Anne Arundel County to raise awareness of the problem and discuss solutions. It was held in Spanish, with an English translation broadcast to headsets for non-Spanish-speakers. About 100 people attended.

The truancy problem isn't unique to Annapolis. Glen Burnie High School also has truancy problems with Hispanic students, but the north county school has a smaller Hispanic population than Annapolis, said Leigh Fleckenstein, a Glen Burnie English-language teacher.

For immigrant students, truancy can be a way to rebel against parents who left them in their home countries for a time when they moved to America, she said.

Hispanic students also skip because they're looking for a social outlet, Ms. Wheeler said. Culturally, Hispanic families encourage their children to work after school and tend to keep their children - espe-cially girls - at home. That leaves little time for socializing.

"They just want to have fun," Ms. Wheeler said.

But cutting class can keep students from graduating, and beyond that it can head students and their families toward legal trouble. By law, all children in Maryland have to attend school regularly between ages 5 and 16, and if they fail to show, they can be referred to Project Attend, a truancy program at the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

If that program doesn't work, their parents could end up in district court on misdemeanor charges. That's especially troublesome for parents who are legal residents on temporary protected status, because two misdemeanor charges can lead to deportation hearings, said Marysabel Rodriguez-Nanney, an immigration attorney in Annapolis.
Tema Encarnacion, international student registrar for county schools, said she's seen that situation play out at least once already at Annapolis High.

Trouble also brews at the parties, where students engage in drinking, sex and gang recruitment, said Officer Ronald Goggins, the school resource officer at Annapolis Middle School. Police have also seen increases in car theft and shoplifting crimes because of truancy, he said.

Rene Escobar, 17, who will be a senior this year at Annapolis High, said some Hispanic students don't see a reason to attend school - they just don't plan to go to college.

Yosy Velasquez, 16, a sophomore at Annapolis High, said students spread the word out about parties through messages written on bathroom walls, through the social networking Web site MySpace and by congregating behind the pool and in the locker room. Students sneak out by pretending they're going to class in the portable classrooms, and then getting in their cars instead.

Someone always gets hurt, she said. She said she's heard stories about students shooting guns and fighting at the parties.

"They think school's boring," Yosy said. "They do it because their friends pressure them. They think, 'I'm going to be in school bored while my friends are having fun.' "

Principal Donald Lilley said officials at Annapolis High need to work closer with the families and are working toward a solution to the truancy problem. Ms. Fleckenstein said Glen Burnie is trying to motivate students by offering dance and soccer clubs. Both urged parents to keep in touch with their child's school and tell officials if their phone number or address changes. That way, the school can contact them if their child is missing from class.

Officer Goggins said parents should call 911 if they know students are throwing a party during school hours so police can bring those students back to school.

"For us, it's not anything easy to deal with," Mercedes Benitez, an Annapolis parent, said last night. "Our children don't realize what they're missing when they skip school."



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