Roll Call: City Council Takes Steps to Help Children Recover Lost Ground to Covid Pandemic
March 3, 2022 - San Antonio
Asking forthright questions. “We’re taking a non-punitive approach because there are issues that are causing children to be truant,” said Judge Carla Obledo in a March 3 statement. Photo: Julia M. Cameron.
By Jade Esteban Estrada, Co-Editor | San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- On Thursday, City Council voted in favor of an ordinance approving the submission of a grant for the Truancy Intervention and Prevention Program
- The $380,559.35 grant would fund six positions in the City’s juvenile court
On Thursday, San Antonio City Council took a step to help schools across the city recover ground lost to the Covid-19 pandemic. The council unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance approving the submission of a grant and accepting funds for the Truancy Intervention and Prevention Program from the office of the governor’s criminal justice division.
The $380,559.35 grant would fund six positions in the City’s juvenile court.
“Grants for programs like truancy prevention can help provide opportunities for at-risk youth and their families to be contracted by case managers,” said District 6 Councilmember Melissa Cabello Havrda. “But beyond that, this is one of the rare occasions when city government can have a direct influence on education.”
Recent media reports have focused on the high number of children who have not returned to in-person classes or were unaccounted for during the pandemic’s remote learning efforts. The grant will help lessen that effect by using the municipal court system to bring those missing students back into the classroom.
“We’re hoping to provide more services and partnerships with the different school districts,” said Municipal Court Presiding Judge Carla Obledo. “We service nine school districts and three charter schools. We’re taking a non-punitive approach because there are issues that are causing children to be truant. We’re trying to find out what those issues are and help them resolve those issues so that they can concentrate on school.”
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Many believe the pandemic will have a generational effect on the education of children in Bexar County and around the world.
“As we talk about the importance of mental health, isolation, and long-lasting effects of Covid-19, grants like this one provide the initial outreach that children desperately need,” said Cabello Havrda.
Jade Esteban Estrada is a co-editor for the San Antonio Sentinel, where he covers public health and other citywide issues. jade@sasentinel.com | Twitter: @satx_writer