© Open Society Institute

Not Present or Accounted For: The Attendance Crisis in Baltimore Schools

September-November 2008 This 12-part radio series, produced by award-winning journalist Melody Simmons, uncovers the reasons why kids are absent and finds solutions to keep children connected to school. “Not Present or Accounted For: The Attendance Crisis in Baltimore Schools” is supported by a grant from the Open Society Institute-Baltimore. The series, which airs on WEAA 88.9 FM weekdays at 7:40 and 10:50 a.m., and 8:35 and 9:50 p.m., is also available for download below. Click here to listen to extended interviews with Dr. Andres Alonso, Mayor Sheila Dixon, students, and other experts.

Part 1: An introduction to the city's crisis in school attendance, where for years the city has led the state in truancy rates, often in double digits. The dismal rankings have sparked renewed efforts to stop the epidemic, which has led to broken lives and economic hardships for thousands of dropouts. View a transcript.

Part 2: There were 7,191 students habitually truant in Baltimore schools last year. It’s an alarming figure that leads the state in unexcused absences and has entrenched local education officials and community leaders in a battle to turn the problem around. This story examines some of those efforts. View a transcript.

Part 3: A profile of Shante Sellman and her son, Dashawn Wooden, who sought help from mentors at a community center in west Baltimore after Dashawn's academic performance started slipping. View a transcript.

Part 4: Talent Development High School has instituted a research-based curriculum that has helped failing students reengage with school. This story profiles the efforts and the people behind it. View a transcript.

Part 5: Robert Balfanz, Johns Hopkins research scientist, has spent a dozen years creating a "whole school" model to stop truancy in cities like Baltimore through school reform. This story profiles Balfanz and his work here and other U.S. cities. View a transcript.

Part 6: New partnerships are being formed this year to help boost school attendance, stop truancy and reenroll past dropouts. This story outlines the initiatives. View a transcript.

Part 7: Behind every successful student is a sense of encouragement and support. For most, that push comes from parents, grandparents, siblings, or guardians. This story examines that critical role. View a transcript.

Part 8: In education, one size doesn't fit all. That's why a dozen "alternative" schools have opened to teach and reengage more than 1,800 Baltimore teens in school this year. A look at one on the westside, the Youth Opportunity Academy. View a transcript.

Part 9:  Violence is the leading cause of death for young African American males in Baltimore City, health department officials say. And a majority of those victims have either been habitually truant or have dropped out of school altogether. This installment investigates these staggering trends. View a transcript.

Part 10: Baltimore school officials recently summoned Gov. Martin O'Malley and State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick to a press conference to tout city high school achievements. It was part of a new approach aimed at keeping teens in school. Contrasting that fanfare, a high-ranking Bloods gang member in east Baltimore summons dropouts and former drug dealers to a once-abandoned row house to offer an unfiltered attempt at reengaging them in education and a different future. This installment profiles how such opposites are at work in our city. View a transcript.

Part 11: Getting to school for thousands of Baltimore’s middle and high schoolers can be a daunting task daily. With no fleets of school buses, they must rely on public transportation. Such commutes, they say, can impact school attendance if they oversleep or miss a bus or train. This story profiles some intrepid student commuters. View a transcript.

Part 12: For the past three months, WEAA’s documentary on the epidemic of truancy has shown how this multi-generational problem has left a negative impact on our city. In the final installment of "Not Present or Accounted For: The Attendance Crisis in Baltimore," a local expert puts the issue into context. View a transcript.