Truancy affects many school districts around the world. Mental health is also a worldwide issue. When these two issues come together it can create major problems for schools and students.
“Currently, seniors have the highest chronic absenteeism rate,” Assistant Principal Kurt Schommer said.
In BASD approximately 10 students a year get truancy tickets, according to Schommer. Receiving the truancy ticket is not the easiest thing. A large number of days have to be missed before students get a habitual truancy ticket. These tickets can range from $500 or more depending on the severity.
“There could be a correlation between mental health and truancy, but there is much more to each individual situation. If someone is experiencing poor mental health, that does not necessarily mean they will become a truant student,” Schommer said.
Students who are habitually truant fall behind in their school work, and may drop out of school. Each student gets 10 excused absences a year or five unexcused absences a semester. If the student has a doctor’s note, they can exceed the limit.
“I think that the pressure to meet deadlines, be on time, socially interact with others, and be part of a system can have an impact on some students’ mental health,” guidance counselor Matt Willet said.
According to Badgerinstitute.org students that struggle with mental health may not want to show up to school.
“There are several ways that mental health disorders can impact school attendance. Mental health disorders like anxiety and depression often come with somatic symptoms, causing young people to experience physical distress like headaches, nausea, and stomach pain,” Waveclinc.com stated.
Most students that struggle with mental health just come to school because the law requires them to show up, but what most students do not realize is that there are many adults at school around them that would be willing to help them work through their classes.
“I believe that any person who struggles with mental health should seek the appropriate help. Depending on someone’s condition, there are numerous paths to finding the right situation that works for you. ‘Leeway’ with attendance is not a cure for mental health and could also lead to bigger issues,” Schommer said.
Mental health problems on top of school work can be very stressful and overwhelming for most students. While truancy and mental health are big issues that need to be taken seriously. There are also laws about missing school that the administration still needs to follow.
“We use a lot of ‘safety nets’ within our policies of truancy to make sure we are giving all the support we can as a school and understand every situation individually, then work with the students and families to solve attendance issues,” Schommer said.
There are support systems in place that target young students to help them work through their mental health problems.
“I know mental health is a very real thing for students as well as adults, but I know students and adults who suffer from mental health issues can get through their days by leaning on trusted adults/teachers/friends and by establishing coping strategies along with the trusted adults/teachers/family,” Willet said.
Students struggling with mental health problems can take many steps toward asking for help. The first thing that would need to happen is the student that is struggling would need to talk to their school counselors, either Ann Ragus or Matt Willet depending on what counselor they have. After the counselor has a conversation with that student then they will either decide if that student’s needs can be reached just through them or if there are more steps to take.
“We have somebody contracted through Green Lake county who actually comes to our school, so either that student can set up a meeting and go to Green Lake and talk to them or they can actually come to the school and talk with the student here,” Ragus said.
Since most students are minors, parent permission is required before outside counselors get involved. Most of the time if the problem is at school or coming to school the district counselors will try to help those issues at school before reaching out to someone higher up for help.
“My job is mostly about looking into grades and absences, mostly seeing what I can do in the building to help the students with school related issues, but once those issues are more outside of the school then we would talk with the student to see what the best solution is,” Ragus said.
Schommer monitors students’ attendance, and if he sees a problem with a student then he would call their counselor and see if there needs to be further check ups or if it is truly just a student skipping school. There are many factors that go into getting help. Students that are struggling with mental health affecting their life in or outside of school should never be afraid to reach out for help.
“Overall there are many different reasons for students to be absent at school. Finding out the reason for their absence is extremely important to finding a solution. At the high school we work collectively to help every student the best we can,” Schommer said.