In the ongoing saga of Detroit's dysfunction, comes Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's (pictured above) bright idea to jail parents in Detroit for up to three days for repeatedly missing parent-teacher conferences.
Worthy's argument is that parents that are not accountable for their children are part of the problem with elevated truancy, dropout rates and a recent rash of violent crimes involving teens:
"I have seen that younger and younger children are committing more violent acts, and we need to look at different approaches," Worthy told reporters. "I know we need to try something different. We should not have to legislate this, but what we have been doing is not working."
Worthy is drafting a proposal for the legislation and hopes to present it to county commissioners in August to persuade them to approve an ordinance.
So if you have a single parent who is working and unable to attend a conference, then that parent should be jailed which would leave the child completely alone? Are you jailing a parent that's a deadbeat? Or is it just the primary caregiver? What about someone with 10 kids and 10 different schools? What about kids that just have bad parents? Will meeting with a teacher make them better parents? My parents didn't make every conference for my sister and I and I haven't made every conference for my children. We all did well or are doing well in school. Is any of this logical?
Under Worthy's plan, Wayne County parents would be required to pick a time and day to attend one parent-teacher conference a year. If that conference is missed, the school would send out a letter to set up another within 14 days. If the second is missed, parents get a letter about sanctions, which could include up to three days in jail.
Worthy's office penalizes parents and guardians for school truancy, but by the time prosecutors get involved, large chunks of classroom time have already been missed. Hundreds of cases are reviewed each year, but only 50 or so result in prosecution. Educational neglect is a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail and a fine for parents. Older students could end up in juvenile court.
This proposal is unlikely to quickly become an ordinance because it would probably be challenged in court. For example, civil libertarians say it may be outside the law. Even some teachers, who often spend several hours waiting for parents who don't show up for the conferences, are skeptical.
If Worthy is looking for parent involvement, Hyde Leadership Academy, a charter school in Washington, D.C., seems to have found a good middle ground. They require parents to attend Saturday workshops once a month, where they discuss issues in a group setting with their children - an academic Alcoholics Anonymous, if you will. They also attend a three-day weekend retreat in the state of Maine, where they participate in more intensive workshops. If the parents do not participate, the students will not be allowed to continue to attend the school, which is a high-achieving school. Parents are informed of these requirements for participation when being interviewed for the school.
The success of this school is not just isolated to academic achievement: students and parents have grown closer, discussed and worked through issues that they weren't able to do on their own and learned from other parents and students. Teachers are also criticized or rewarded in a public forum.
Maybe Worthy should do some research on tactics that have worked in other districts with Detroit's demographics. Detroit really doesn't need any more people in jail. I mean, really.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Wednesday, July 7th 2010 at 1:15PM
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