Kane County Regional Office of Education Helps Families with Supplies and Support to Boost School Attendance as the Year Begins
Justin Sampson, Director of Communications and Marketing Kane County Regional Office of Education 8/19/2024 10:00AM
Ensuring that every child across Kane County attends school regularly is an unwavering top priority. The Kane County Regional Office of Education (ROE) is committed to providing resources to students and families alongside our community partners, working with our school districts to navigate truancy, and informing families of their rights and resources under ROE's Alternative Programs.
“We recognize that consistent attendance is a key factor in academic success,” said Patricia Dal Santo, Regional Superintendent for Kane County. “Every child has a unique experience at school and every student learns in their own way. The ROE has long-standing pillars of our Alternative Programs designed to address the needs of students that may face different obstacles in their educational journey.”
1. Community Outreach
Kane County ROE staff understand that a variety of factors may deter children from wanting to attend school. Living circumstances, language barriers, individualized education plans, and other variants can lead to difficulties in a school day that other students may consider routine.
Through outreach and collaboration, the ROE strives to navigate these challenges for the sake of the social emotional wellbeing of students.
Members of the ROE staff have visited community events throughout the summer to provide school supplies,
health and school bus safety tips, and information on homeless education.
The ROE is involved in Project Backpack, hosted by Elgin Community College, to connect students with necessary supplies prior to the start of classes.
Patricia Dal Santo, Regional Superintendent, and Dr. Deanna Oliver, Assistant Regional Superintendent, also connected with colleagues at CASA Kane County and delivered supplies for children who have been exposed to abuse or neglect.
James Pawola, ROE Homelessness Liaison, also attended community events to distribute information about the rights of McKinney-Vento children, which ensure children experiencing homelessness have access to choice of school, transportation, free lunch and fee waivers, supplemental tutoring, and more.
Removing even a fragment of these hardships can provide clarity for children and the mental and emotional space for them to focus on academics and building relationships in school.
2. Student Services
The Kane County ROE maintains truancy and homelessness data for children across Kane County. This allows our staff to engage students and families with the appropriate supports and interventions depending on the individual circumstances.
The ROE Equal Chance Program is in place to empower students attend school by assisting districts with:
● Staff training
● Outreach to areas that have frequent influx of low income families
● Facilitating bi-monthly parent meetings at shelters
● Collaborating with ROE Youth Outreach staff and Safe Schools Facilitators
The ROE also has an established Truancy Prevention Program as a coordinated effort between all school districts in the county as well as local governmental, social service, and community agencies.
This program receives truancy referrals from schools, and individual cases are provided with options of resources, including school visits, home visits, educational monitoring, advocacy, individual therapy, family therapy, community agency referrals, parenting education, case management, court liaison, prevention
education, and dropout intervention services.
All grade levels are served with intensive intervention/prevention services targeted for chronic truants. This may involve developing individual service plans, diagnostic profile needs, and connection to community services.
This is only a snapshot of the services provided by the ROE. Each month, we will share how we support student attendance across Kane County. Through a combination of data analysis, professional development, prevention programs, family engagement, legal support, and collaborative partnerships, the ROE remains
steadfast in addressing truancy and fostering an environment where all students can thrive.
More information on the resources listed can be found at kaneroe.org.
