Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995                   TAG: 9505220057
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETH MACY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE KID'S NOT IN SCHOOL

The parent says, ``I can't get my child to go to school.''

The police officer says, ``Let the court and the school handle it.''

The school says, ``It's not just a school issue; it's a community

issue.''

The truant says, ``You can't make me go to school.''

Meanwhile, one out of eight Roanoke students missed 25 days or more of school last year. More than half of the city's high schoolers missed 11 or more days.

Truancy's not a headline-grabber. With juvenile crime soaring, a kid skipping school is small potatoes, compared to guns, drugs and teen pregnancy.

But the fact is, truancy is almost always the first sign that a kid is headed for trouble. A truant is 31/2 times more prone to commit a delinquent crime while absent from school. And one-half of all truant students eventually drop out.

Today's Extra section gives a voice to some area truants and the community people who try to get them back in school.

In Monday Extra, we'll introduce you to a pilot program at Stonewall Jackson Middle School, where a judge roams the hallway and a school guidance counselor goes to court.

Says Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Joseph Bounds: ``Truancy is just the tip of the iceberg, and you've got to be innovative enough to figure out what's below it.''

Tuesday Extra will tell the stories of Greg Bundick and Teresa Harmon, two school dropouts who are dropping back in at alternative education's Drop-In Academy - and plan to be among the first from the school to advance to college.