Officials with the Rochester City School District says they’re in the midst of a “culture change,” in one of the most basic parts of education: attendance.
It’s in response to a new report on Treyvan Rowe. Rowe is the 14-year-old special needs student who walked away from School 12 last March. His body was later found in the Genesee River.
The report was released by New York State Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia and Attorney General Letitia James. They say mistakes were made by the district at multiple levels, from the types of services Trevyan Rowe received to the way the school monitored his attendance and bus travel.
Betsy Hoffer is the Associate Director of the district’s attendance department. She would not respond directly to the report released Tuesday, but does say the district has implemented new procedures over the last year.
The new procedures include robo-calls to parents of tardy students, hiring additional staff that connect directly with parents and an app-based program called “Crisis Go.” Crisis Go connects school administrators with the police quickly.
Betsy Hoffer runs the district’s attendance department. She says it’s now a top priority of the district.
“We’re communicating with families much quicker than we used to. And it’s on everybody’s radar. That is important. To make sure we’re addressing it, and keeping everyone safe,” Hoffer said.
On Tuesday, State Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia and State Attorney General Leticia James released a report on their investigation into the events leading up to Rowe’s death. One of the many findings said that the district failed to accurately monitor attendance.
