Former absentee students at Public School 27 received kudos for turning themselves into ace attendees when the Red Hook Community Justice Center lauded them with diplomas in front of their relatives, teachers and mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.
Proud graduates of Attendance Court, a collaborative program between community and the Center for Courts to fight chronic truancy in city schools, received the awards for “dramatically” improving their classroom presence during a ceremony at the nation’s first multi−jurisdictional community court, 88 Visitation Place.
Attendance Court provides schools with new tools to address constant lateness and unexcused absences before they are formally reported by school officials for educational neglect. It aims to ease burdens on the juvenile justice system, family courts and child welfare authorities by making referrals to services such as counseling, tutoring, mentoring, parenting skills, and after−school programs.
