Marshall County Schools Hires Truancy Diversion Specialist
Shelley Hanson Trending
In an effort to decrease the number of truant students in Marshall County Schools, the district has hired a new truancy diversion specialist.
Mike Rose, who has worked as a parole officer for the state among other positions, is the district's second probation officer and new truancy diversion specialist for the high schools and middle schools.
Rose, a John Marshall High and West Liberty University graduate, was introduced during a press event held Monday at the board of education office. With him were Scott Mealy, a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals probation officer for Marshall County Schools; Adam Barney, assistant prosecutor for Marshall County; Joe Canestraro, Marshall County prosecutor; and 2nd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Cramer.
Rose's job will be to discover and help address issues that led to students' truancy with the goal of keeping them out of the court system. Last school year, the district had 180 students deemed truant. A student is considered truant if they have 10 or more unexcused absences in one semester.
"We're very fortunate to have Mike," Mealy said. "He's well versed with the court system and I think he is a great fit for Marshall County Schools and the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals."
Cramer added it was "exciting for the circuit court to have an extra set of eyes and ears inside the school."
"He's not going to be a correctional officer at the school. He's going to be eyes and ears for the court, eyes and ears for the school administration," Cramer said. "And hopefully he can keep some of the cases that end up in our juvenile court system from getting to that point."
Students will be referred to Rose by the district's Attendance Director Tracy Mercer. Once referred to him, Rose will determine the cause of the absences. He noted sometimes it is the fault of the student, the parents or both.
Rose is also tasked with dealing with tobacco use issues in schools. Students who have been caught using tobacco three times in one semester will be referred to Rose.
Barney said the goal is to "nip issues in the bud" and get students on the right path instead of them ending up in court or a juvenile detention facility.
"It's a preventative measure having Mike take this position," Barney added.
Mealy said the position is being made possible by a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals program that pays for half of Rose's salary for two years. The school district covers the other half. The school district has the option to renew it every two years.
Mealy said his role as a probation officer for the district is to deal with criminal matters. His office is at the magistrate building. Rose will deal with "status offenses" such as truancy and tobacco.
Haines noted there are a wide range of issues as to why some students become truant. However, there are cases when students simply just don't want to come to school. Since COVID some parents are not sure when they should keep their children home after being sick, she noted.
Barney said the cause of a student's absenteeism is often related to their age. For elementary school students, it is up to the parents to get their children up and ready and to the school.
"Once we hit middle school and high school, what we find is that the kids themselves often play a role," Barney said. "We've had situations where the parents actually drop the kid off at school, and he takes off and doesn't go into the building."
Parents can be fined and in extreme cases face jail time because of their child's truancy.
"One of the other things we have done in the past, and we have no trouble doing it, is making them attend school with the child as well," Canestraro added.