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Luzerne County prison oversight options debated in light of mounting problems

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“Bliss” by Edgewood opened Tuesday at the Edgewood by Sand Springs golf course

<p>As a new school year approaches, let&#8217;s commit as a community to keeping as many of our students in class for as many school days as possible &#8211; which is key to educational success.</p><p>That means limiting truancy, and possibly rethinking our attitudes about in-school and out-of-school suspensions. It also means keeping our children healthy so they experience a minimal number of absences due to illness.</p><p>Perhaps most fundamentally, it means reminding the children in our lives &#8211; whether a scared kindergartner or a confident senior &#8211; that school matters. Tell them so frequently.</p><p>In Northeastern Pennsylvania, where many public school districts will resume classes Monday, parents, grandparents and other adults can play a critical role by setting expectations for students. If you talk about school as if it&#8217;s a nuisance, your child likely will adopt a similar poor attitude. And if you&#8217;re lax about his or her attendance, you could be setting up your child to fail not only in the classroom, but also in life.</p><p>&#8220;In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communities,&#8221; according to an article on the Great Schools website titled <a href="http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/school-attendance-issues/" target="_blank">&#8220;Why attendance matters</a>.&#8221;</p><p>Here&#8217;s what each of us can do to tip the scales in our children&#8217;s favor.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Parents and other caretakers</strong>. Be involved in your child&#8217;s schooling. &#8220;Many studies show that parents&#8217; involvement in school is more important to their children&#8217;s academic success than the parents&#8217; level of education or income,&#8221; according to information distributed by the U.S. Department of Education.</p><p>Dedicate a quiet area of the house for doing homework, and ensure your child completes assignments. Get to know his or her teachers. Attend school events. Become active in a parent-teacher group.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Teachers</strong>. Create a welcoming classroom environment, and find little ways &#8211; including learning how to properly pronounce a student&#8217;s name &#8211; to show him or her respect.</p><p>&#8220;Both college- and middle-school-age students reported losing respect for teachers who disciplined students in a dismissive or punitive way, and said that they would be more likely to misbehave in such a teacher&#8217;s class,&#8221; according to a July <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/07/13/one-key-to-reducing-school-suspension-a.html" target="_blank">article in Education Week</a> about reducing school suspensions.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Administrators and policy makers</strong>. Consider whether suspensions are applied only when needed and don&#8217;t disproportionately target minority students. The U.S. Department of Education, among other groups, has compiled <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/data.html" target="_blank">disturbing data</a> that show black students get suspended and expelled at much higher rates than white students.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Students</strong>. Go to school consistently.</p><p>One day, not so long from now, you&#8217;ll be glad you earned that high school diploma.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Make school attendance a priority for all of NEPA’s students