Working with Truants: The Miami Police Department
1998 School-Based Partnership 


By
Shellie E. Solomon
Craig D. Uchida
21st Century Solutions, Inc.



This report and project were supported by Grant No. 1999-CK-WX-K005 awarded by the 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice to 21st 
Century Solutions, Inc.  Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do 
not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of 
Justice or the law enforcement agency involved in the study.

Copyright  by Craig D. Uchida and 21st Century Solutions, Inc.  The U.S. Department 
of Justice reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, 
publish or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use, this document for Federal 
Government purposes. No part of this document may be reproduced in any forms, by any 
means (including electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior 
written permission of the U.S. Department of Justice and the authors.

Published by:
21st Century Solutions, Inc.
P.O. Box 12279
Silver Spring, MD 20908
(301) 438-3132
www.e-21stCenturySolutions.com
CDUchida@aol.com



Introduction 

In 1998, the Miami Police Department received a School-Based Partnership grant from 
the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), U.S. Department of 
Justice.  This grant provided $138,817 to work with staff and students at the Booker T. 
Washington Middle/High School to address habitual truancy problems.  This school 
ranked 48th in attendance out of 48 middle schools in the county in 1996 and 1997.  The 
school is located in Overtown, a low socio- economic community just west of downtown 
Miami.  21st Century Solutions, Inc. served as the local evaluator for the project.  This 
report explains how the grant was implemented and describes the impact of the problem-
solving process on the school and police. 

Background 

Miami Police Department. The Miami Police Department serves a community of over 
365,000 people with 1,100 officers and 365 civilian employees.  The Department has 
practiced community policing since 1992.  Major efforts involved the creation of 12 
Neighborhood Enhancement Team Service Areas (NETs) throughout the city.  These 
teams worked with other city agencies to respond to specific problems of residents and 
businesses in these areas.  To support its community policing efforts, the police 
department received numerous grants from the COPS Office.  These grants supported 
hiring police officers and civilians, obtaining technology, implementing problem solving 
partnerships, domestic violence projects and anti-gang initiatives.  Miami also served as a 
Community Policing Demonstration Center to assist other police agencies.  Under its 
Distressed Neighborhoods grant, the department targets Miamis most disadvantaged 
areas.  Officers formed problem solving teams with community members to address 
crime problems, stabilize neighborhoods and begin the revitalization process.

Booker T. Washington School.  In 1967 the Miami-Dade School District transformed 
Booker T. Washington Senior High School into a middle school.  This was a major 
change for the neighborhood, for Booker T. Washington Senior High School was the 
oldest high school in South Florida and one that served students from West Palm Beach 
to Key West.  Founded in 1926 as a segregated school for Negroes, Booker T. 
Washington was the pride of the community.  After its conversion to a middle school, the 
"Washingtonians, an alumni group, worked to change the school back to a high school.  
After many years of deliberations, the alumni finally convinced the Miami Dade County 
Public School Board to reinstate Booker T. Washington Middle School to its senior high 
status. 

In 1999, Booker T. Washington Senior High School opened its doors and is referred to as 
an all-academy, neighborhood, comprehensive senior high school.   
Though rebuilt in 1988 with many modern educational facilities such as a planetarium, 
the school had fallen into disrepair.  Currently, a $30 million construction and renovation 
project is underway to build a new gymnasium, auditorium, track and field facility, and 
classroom complex.  

Additional plans include the renovation of the cafeteria, classrooms, and the media 
center.  

Like most Miami schools, it is an open facility with exposed courtyards and open-air 
hallways.  
In the fall of 1999, there were 917 7th and 8th graders in the school.  The school was made 
up of about 52 percent Black and 48 percent Hispanic students.   School boundaries are 
shown on the attached map.  The area marked #1 is a neighborhood of Haitian Creole 
origin and the area marked #2 houses a mix of Haitian-origin families. Over the last few 
years, there has been a 52 percent increase in the cultural mix of the school.  Most of the 
school population has limited English skills. Other nationalities present include 
Hondurans, Nicaraguan and Cuban immigrants. 

The decision to change this school from a middle school to a high school meant a gradual 
increase in students over eight years.  The targeted enrollment is about 2,200 to 2,400 
new students. The extensive new construction will accommodate the increased 
enrollment.

Booker T. Washington has a total of 114 employees, including:
- 5   Administrators
- 73 Teachers 
- 7   Counselors 
- 5   Paraprofessionals 
- 9   Clerical
- 12 Security Guards and
- 3   Community Involvement Specialist 

Relationships with Social Services and the Police.  At the beginning of the grant, 
school officials sought assistance from social service agencies and the police to help their 
students improve the quality of their education and to address habitual truancy problems.  
School officials recognized that students from Booker T. Washington came from the 
poorest area in the county, as it was designated a Title I school.  This meant that 75 
percent of the students received free or reduced cost lunches, the only high school in 
Miami-Dade County with such a high percentage.  The school receives additional 
funding to address social and educational issues connected with this level of poverty.  In 
particular Booker T. Washington used Title I funding to support additional 
paraprofessionals to assist with tracking and reporting requirements. Also, a new 
Community Involvement Specialist was hired to work with the Truancy project.
 
While multiple officers assisted with the grant, Officer Esther Farmer, a School Resource 
Officer with the Miami Police Department, served as the project coordinator and primary 
contact person between Booker T. Washington administrators and the Miami Police 
Department.  Other officers supporting her were Neighborhood Resource Officers for the 
Overtown area.

The School-Based Partnership Project

COPS Office Model. The central focus of the COPS Office grant program was to engage 
police agencies and their school partners in the problem-oriented policing strategy.  
Herman Goldstein (1979 and 1990) first called attention to problem solving as an 
alternative to traditional law enforcement strategies.  He found that officers went from 
call to call to call, never delving into a situation long enough to deal with its root causes 
or stopping long enough to figure out a long term solution. Police were (and still are) 
caught up in answering calls immediately even though they knew that they would not 
catch the thief, burglar, or pickpocket.

Goldsteins problem solving approach is a simple four-step process; commonly know as 
the SARA model (Eck and Spelman, 1987). Basically this involves Scanning the 
problem, Analyzing the depths of the problem, Responding with appropriate solutions 
conducive to long term resolutions, and Assessment of the efficacy of the problem 
solving strategy. Tailoring solutions to specific community problems is a crucial 
component of the problem solving strategies, and therefore of community policing. 

The COPS Office provided funding to over 270 agencies to implement this model in 
schools.  Evaluation funds were provided as part of the grant.  One of the goals of the 
evaluation is to determine whether agencies followed a specific model (like the SARA 
model). To evaluate this Problem Solving Partnership grant, we determined whether the 
problem-solving model was followed and its impact.

Scanning

Much of the scanning for this project was done during the grant application phase.   In the 
application, the police department discussed how they had arrived at this problem. They 
responded to an appeal from school administrators, teachers and community groups and 
undertook a funnel approach to identify possible root causes of crime problems in the 
area.  

Miami-Dade County was the highest-ranking county for juvenile arrests in the State of 
Florida.  Further, the Miami Police Department found that the Overtown area accounted 
for 60 percent of juvenile arrests in the city during the 1995-96 school year. 

Based upon reports by two Dade County Grand Juries (1991 and 1993), truancy was 
identified as one of the major causes of juvenile delinquency. A third grand jury report in 
1996 revealed that early warning indicators of future criminal behavior included truancy, 
academic failure and behavior problems in schools.  Students at Booker T. Washington 
appeared to fit these indicators as the school ranked 48th out of 48 middle schools for 
attendance. In addition, only 7 percent of the students scored above the national median 
in reading and 12 percent in math. On an average day, eight students were on internal 
suspension and 35 on out-door suspension. (Office of Student Services and Attendance, 
Dade County Public Schools.)  

To develop the grant, the police department worked with the Miami-Dade School Board, 
and Booker T. Washington Middle School officials, alumni and students.  They reviewed 
crime data and school data. They also relied on personal observations of officers and 
school officials.  As a result of these reviews and discussions, the police department 
focused on addressing the problem of chronic truancy (30 or more days unexcused 
absences).  By concentrating on this problem, they hoped to address juvenile crime issues 
and fear of crime in and around the school.  

Initially, police officers and many school officials thought that students who were 
skipping school were taking the mass transit system located behind the school. They 
believed that students were going to local shopping areas causing nuisance crimes such as 
petty theft and vandalism as well as more serious burglary and drug sales problems.  
Officers were certain that students were hanging out without being reported at the mini-
mart across the street from the school.  They also thought that some truant students were 
pregnant teen-age girls.   Some administrators and officers suspected that truant students 
were caring for their younger siblings or related children during school hours.  During the 
analysis phase, these perceptions proved to be incorrect.
  
Analysis

Approach. To conduct the analysis, we used the crime triangle to identify questions.   
Some of these questions included: 
- Who are the offenders - what are their characteristics? 
- What is the level of truancy in the school?
- What are the physical surroundings of the school?
- What crimes are taking place and when are they occurring?
- What impact is the truancy having on the school and other students in the school?
- What is the level of parental involvement?
  
To answer these questions, the team collected and reviewed data from: 
- Police Records
- School Resource Officers
- Surveys of truant and non-truant students
- School information on absences, suspensions, and other disciplinary actions
- Environmental survey of the area immediately adjacent to the school
- Follow-up reports from interviews with parents of truant students
 
To learn about the victims the team reviewed calls for service during school hours over a 
seven-month period.  To learn more about the offenders (and victims) a random survey 
was administered to 55 students.  In addition, 44 students with chronic truancy rates 
completed the survey.  

School reports on attendance and grades were reviewed.  An environmental survey was 
conducted.  Pictures were taken by officers of the areas immediately adjacent to the 
school to determine whether students could leave the school without being seen.  Officers 
noted graffiti, footpaths from the school, trash, and types of structural buildings in and 
around the school.

During this phase of the project (November 1999 to June 2000), officers spent about 60 
hours per week collecting data, students participated about one hour per week in 
meetings, and a teacher hired by the grant dedicated 40 hours per week to the project.   
The data sources included calls for service, arrest reports, incident reports, field 
interviews, officer perceptions, GIS mapping analysis, the environmental survey, the 
suspension/expulsion data, attendance records, and observational assessments by the 
officers.  Offender and victim interviews, academic records, literature reviews, state and 
jury reports, family services records, public versus private school bus rider estimates, and 
the student survey were viewed as somewhat helpful. 

Problems encountered during the analysis phase included confidentiality issues stemming 
from school policies, lack of automated data, and administrative bureaucracy processing 
delays.  Additional problems included lack of support from parents, resistance from 
faculty and staff, and language or cultural barriers. Many parents did not speak English, 
limiting the dialogue between the officers and the parents.

The school partner participated in developing and administering the student survey and 
the offender interview instruments, analyzed data from the school records, documented 
the problem behaviors and participated in the discussion meetings.  Students assisted with 
administering the survey and participated in the response discussion meetings. The 
project coordinator felt that the relationship developed during the analysis phase with the 
school partner was good. The relationships developed with the students were viewed as 
excellent.

Analysis Findings.  Results from each data source were linked to the crime triangle 
according to victim information, offender information and location information.  The 
team cross-validated interpretations of the data. They assessed and re-directed hypotheses 
about who, what and why students were truant as well as the impact of their truancy on 
the school and neighborhood.  These discussions guided them in developing the 
responses.  

The team examined calls for service occurring during the day shift from August 28, 1999 
to April 9, 2000.  They reviewed where calls were originating, what they reported and 
what outcomes resulted.  The team found that:
- 15 occurred at the school
- 24 at 7th Ave & 14th Street
- 6 at 1215 NW 7th Ave
- 3 in the 400 block of 13th Street

The calls at the school involved assaults, larcenies, and disturbances.  A review of all 
calls in the area indicated that: 
- 20 incidents occurred with no report required
- 6 incidents resulted in arrest related to traffic stops
- 5 incidents resulted in reports but no arrest
- 4 calls were disturbance calls
- 3 calls were motor vehicle larcenies
- 3 calls were assault on a person
- 3 calls were for traffic accidents

Survey results.  Ninety-nine student surveys were conducted with 55 obtained from a 
random sample of students and 44 targeting chronically truant students.  Additional 
demographics of the survey group are as follows: 
- 82 percent were 15 or 16 years old
- Half were in 9th grade and half were in 10th grade
- 40 were Female; 53 were Male; 3 Unknown
- 35 African American; 50 Hispanic
- 54 percent woke up to go to school between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

From this survey the team learned that the majority of students surveyed (68 percent) 
stated that they go to school to get an education; even the majority of truant students 
surveyed (54 percent) stated they go to school to get an education.  However, one-fifth of 
truant students stated they go to school because someone makes them.

Sixteen (36 percent) of the truant students stated that they skipped school one or two days 
per month while 11 (25 percent) said they skipped three to five days per month. 

When asked why they were skipping, the primary reason identified by all students was 
that they did not like their teachers.  Seventeen percent reported individual reasons such 
as they lacked clothing or were baby-sitting and an additional 17 percent reported they 
were scared and did not fit in to school.

The third major data source was attendance records.  We reviewed these records at three 
different time periods.  In each time period the number of students that were considered 
chronically truant increased.  It should be noted that this number may understate the 
problem.  Those students that made up the truancy rates in the first and/or second 
reporting period were not necessarily the same students accounting for the truancy rate in 
the second and third reporting periods.  Some students disappeared from the student 
roster either because they transferred to another school or turned 16 and were classified 
as a drop-out.  They were administratively removed from the roster.

These data show that two students were considered chronically truant at the end of 
November. A month later, three students met this category.  By May 1 the number of 
chronically truant students rose to 35.  A more dramatic rise was seen in the number of 
students with significant unexcused absences ranging from 15-30.   These data were 
useful in determining which students to target in the response phase.  Further analysis of 
the attendance data show that unexcused absences went up just prior to lunch. The team 
questioned these data because it did not seem logical that students would come back to 
school after skipping those periods right around the lunch hour.

A fourth data collection method that proved useful was the environmental survey.  In this 
survey, officers walked around the school noting the physical appearance and general 
state of the areas as well as the type of building structures.  They observed: 
- 5-6 abandoned buildings
- Up to 20 people hanging out as well as vacant lots or areas suitable for 
loitering
- Small piles to a few pieces of trash seen on each side of the school




They also noted that the school was bordered by residential, commercial and industrial 
properties. Typically the commercial structures were grocery stores and service 
providers.



In addition, the students had ready access to transportation on each side of the school. 
The transit stop was located next to the school as well as bus stops.

Referring back to the crime triangle, the team struggled to identify victims of the truancy 
problem.  The initial thought was that truants caused some of the crime problems in this 
area. The data did not support this theory.   The calls at the school did not necessarily 
involve the habitually truant students.  Only two of the truant students had been on 
outdoor suspension.  Overall, calls in the area did not involve juveniles.

Looking at the offenders, the data provided some interesting target groups.  Ninth graders 
accounted for approximately 70 percent of the unexcused absences.  Race made no 
difference. Males skipped 1.7 times more often than females.  Using the survey results 
from the truant students, we learned that the majority (27 out of 44) skipped by 
themselves while 22 usually skipped with two to three friends.  Only three skipped with 
family members. When they skipped, 28 reported going home; nine reported hanging out 
on the streets and six went to a friends house.  Thirty-four got to their destination by 
walking. Thirteen rode the bus. Further, the team found from attendance data that the 
majority of truant students (77 percent) lived within a two-mile radius of the school. 

A final data source involved information from officers who contacted the parents of 
chronically truant students.  Although much effort was put into this collection method, it 
yielded few contacts. Of the 37 attempts made, 23 parents/guardians were reached.  
About half (18) were aware of the absences and the other half (19) was unaware.  In 
terms of locating the student, the officers were unable to find 21 of the truant students, 
they transported nine back to school and learned that five were out sick.

Based on these findings, the team developed the following description of the typical 
truant student:


Developing the Response. The project coordinator hosted an all-day session to discuss 
the analysis findings and to develop response options.  In this session, teams of police 
officers, school officials, community leaders, and students were tasked with developing 
options.   These options included: 
- Creating a better link with adult role models through after-school 
programs with churches and other community organizations
- Investigating methods of prosecution of the parents for failure to 
ensure their children are in school
- Talking with teachers about their impact on the students and ways to 
improve their relationships with the students
- Building a better link with Miami Bridge, the alternative school, to 
divert the chronically truant and disruptive student more efficiently to 
this school
- Helping students to become more involved in school activities
- Explaining to students the expectations, requirements and benefits of 
graduation from high school
- Working with local grocery stores to encourage reporting of truants
- Helping students to fit in more easily and to bridge the cultural gaps 
by linking upper class students with incoming freshmen.

At the end of the session, each person was asked to write his or her thoughts about the 
best approach to tackle this problem.  The project coordinator reviewed the input and 
worked with the students, school administrators and other police officers to implement 
the following responses.  It should be noted that all attendees thought a six to ten percent 
drop in the number of students identified as chronically truant would be considered a 
success.

Response

To address the truancy problems, the team developed and implemented multiple 
responses focused on potential offenders.  The majority of time was spent focusing on the 
specific at-risk population  incoming 9th graders with a track record of truancy.  In 
addition to these activities, efforts were undertaken to ensure that the entire incoming 9th 
grade class would feel more welcome and connected to the students, faculty and staff at 
Booker T. Washington Senior High School.

The team did not address most findings from the environmental assessment.  This was 
because extensive construction that was undertaken to expand the school campus. 
Construction safety fences and boundaries blocked access from the school to foot trails 
and abandoned buildings

 
 
 
Current construction has eliminated foot trails that truants used to leave school from the backside. 


Targeted Interventions. Based upon the analysis information about the typical truant 
student, the team decided to work with incoming 9th graders.  They targeted those with 
borderline drop-out potential for special one-on-one and small group consultations.    
The team felt that with their resources special attention could be given to 70 students or 
ten percent of the potential 714 incoming 9th graders.  

The team reviewed the 8th grade attendance records for the incoming 9th grade class.  
They found the average number of unexcused absences during the 8th grade was 19 
absences.  They focused their limited resources to one-on-one efforts on the high-risk 
students.  However, they decided not to spend time hunting for students. The students 
that were difficult to locate may have either left the area without transferring schools or 
simply lacked any motivation to attend school.   Sixty-five students with more than 40 
unexcused absences but less than 70 within the previous school year, were targeted for 
the focused intervention.   Forty unexcused absences were double the average number of 
absences for this incoming 9th grade class. 

For those students with fewer than 40 unexcused absences, the team determined that the 
efforts directed toward the entire 9th grade population would suffice.  They felt they could 
help these students become more connected to the school and more aware of the 
requirements for graduation with limited interventions.  

Although they did not hunt for the students per se, extensive efforts were made to 
contact all 65 of the targeted students.  But only 30 of these students could be found and 
contacted on a regular basis.  Efforts to contact these students included attempts to call 
them out of class on different school days at different time periods, home visits by 
officers, and a home visit by the community involvement specialist.  In many cases, these 
students were taken off the list because of the inability to locate them and/or to determine 
their home address. 

During successful home visits, the police officer and/or the community involvement 
specialist would advise parents of truancy concerns and request their assistance in 
addressing the problem with the student.  They would also provide information about 
social services if needed, and identify what issues were impacting the students 
attendance at school.	

In addition to the home visits, police officers and teachers conducted weekly, then bi-
weekly and then monthly group and one-on-one discussions with targeted students to 
mentor and encourage their attendance at school.  Student leaders attended group 
discussions to form a bond with truant students and to serve as mentors.  Officers and 
teachers informed the students of their responsibilities, provided detailed information 
about graduation requirements, discussed the benefits of an education, and explained 
truancy laws. 

For the one-on-one discussions, the officers obtained up-to-date attendance data.  During 
each session, they pinpointed unexcused absences, questioned the cause of the absence 
and discussed the impacts of the unexcused absences with truant students.  The students 
were held accountable for their answers and actions about each unexcused absence.  Most 
importantly, officers worked with students to develop a strategy for preventing future 
unexcused absences.  

In many cases, students were simply not waking up in time for school. They did not own 
alarm clocks.  Once they did wake up, these students decided to stay home rather than be 
tardy.  Also, the attendance policy required actions that many were not aware of and were 
not taking.  If a student missed homeroom, they were marked absent for the day, unless 
they reported to the Main Office. Officer Farmer addressed this problem in a 
straightforward, simple way.  She advised them to come to school and report to the office 
when they arrived.  She solicited and obtained private funding to purchase alarm clocks 
for the students as holiday presents.  She distributed alarm clocks to these students, 
essentially erasing this problem as a plausible excuse.

A second problem was the lack of appropriate school clothing.  These students reported 
having no clean clothing or having clothing that no longer fit their growing bodies. Most 
students with this problem were female.  Officer Farmer obtained funding from private 
donations and purchased clothing for these students.  Providing these clothes seemed to 
aid, although not erase, this issue.  

During the holiday break, Officer Farmer sent a letter in an official Miami Police 
Department envelope to the home of each targeted student. This letter wished them and 
their families a happy holiday and encouraged them to continue to prioritize regular 
school attendance.  She noted the number of unexcused absences the student had 
accumulated to date.

Broad Interventions. Student leaders focused on ensuring that all incoming 9th grade 
students felt welcome and bonded to Booker T. Washington High School.  The entire 
team worked to explain the policies and procedures of the school. They published 
information about high school graduation requirements in multiple media forums.  
Finally, the team briefed teachers on the analysis findings.  Administrators and students 
identified ways for teachers to make better connections with the new students early in the 
school year.  These efforts responded to discussions with students and findings from the 
student surveys that some students, especially truant students, did not like school and did 
not like their teachers.

Specific interventions included an introductory/orientation course to high school to all 9th 
graders during the summer and developing school-planner calendars.  The school 
planners included phone numbers for social services and emergency providers as well as 
school policies and graduation requirements.  These attractive calendars were given to 
every student during the first weeks of school.  Student leaders made an effort to use their 
calendars to encourage other students to do the same.  One student leader commented that 
he used the graduation requirements information in the calendar to coach a 9th grader on 
why he must attend and pass algebra.  The student did not know that three mathematics 
credits were required to graduate.

Student leaders worked with officers to obtain donations from businesses to host a 
welcome breakfast for incoming 9th graders.  During this breakfast, student leaders 
introduced themselves and school administrators.  They recognized and promoted 
teachers assisting with 9th grade class-specific activities such as spirit week competition.  
The leaders explained extracurricular activities, discussed how to request assistance with 
specific courses and offered their friendship to these students.

Prior to any of these student leader activities, Officer Farmer trained them in the problem 
solving (SARA) process.  This training provided them with a systematic method to 
understand and assist with the truancy problems.   They were better prepared to mentor 
and assist 9th graders with problem situations.						

Assessment

To conduct the assessment the team examined the same data sources used to conduct the 
analysis but at different time periods.  Specifically, the team collected and reviewed data 
from: 
- Police Records  Calls for Service
- Interviews with the School Resource Officer
- School information on absences, suspensions, and other disciplinary actions 
- Interviews of truant students
- Interviews of student leaders
- Interviews with school administrators and involved teachers
- Limited interviews with parents of truant students that agreed to assist the 
team with this process

Calls for Service.  As we stated originally, it did not appear from the suspensions data 
that the truant students were involved in criminal activity.  Since the original data did not 
support the assumption that truants were involved in criminal activity, we did not 
anticipate that any change in calls for service were related to the interventions targeting 
truant students. Even so, the team did review calls for service in the assessment.

We were not able to obtain data for the corresponding time period of August to April and 
therefore, we cannot determine the exact level of changes in the calls for service.  
However, we examined calls for service during the day shift from January 1, 2001 to 
May 15, 2001. We looked at where calls were originating, what they reported and what 
outcomes resulted.  Looking at the same addresses as in the Analysis phase, we found 
that:
- 19 incidents occurred at the school during the four-month period (20 
occurred in the original analysis during the eight-month period)
- 12 at 7th Ave & 14th Street, the address for the mini-mart  (24 
occurred during the original analysis period)
- 0 at 1216 NW 7th Ct (next to 1215 NW 7th Ave) as opposed to 6 for 
the original analysis
- 0 in the 400 block of 13th Street as opposed to 3 for the original 
analysis

Eleven of the calls at the school involved supplements only as opposed to person 
offenses of assaults, larceny and disturbances. Of the remaining calls, one involved a 
traffic incident, two involved false alarms, two involved assault on a person, one involved 
a disturbance call and 1 involved a missing person.  The nature of two calls is unknown.  
The following table shows the differences between the original analysis and the 
assessment period.  Only two arrest were made in the area surrounding the school.

Original Analysis
Assessment Analysis
20 incidents occurred with no report 
required
11 incidents occurred with no report 
required
6 incidents resulted in arrest related to 
traffic stops

5 incidents resulted in reports but no arrest
10 incidents resulted in reports but no 
arrest

4 calls were disturbance calls
1 call was a disturbance call

3 calls were motor vehicle larcenies

3 calls were assault on a person
3 calls were assault on a person 
3 calls were for traffic accidents

1 call for traffic accident

2 involved false alarms

1 involved missing persons

Because the time periods for this comparison were not the same we cannot make any 
assertions about their meaning.  

Interviews with the School Resource Officer.   Officer Esther Farmer served as the 
project coordinator. She provided her assessment and views of the impact of the program.

During the interventions, Officer Farmer stressed that students must understand the 
requirements for graduation and for attending school.  She felt the students must take 
responsibility for their actions related to these requirements.  She successfully resisted 
suggestions to provide incentives to the truant students.  She believed that the team 
should not encourage student to attend school for reasons other than to obtain an 
education and to graduate from high school.  

Through the one-on-one contacts, Officer Farmer ensured that students were aware that 
their attendance was being watched.  If they failed to meet the requirements of the school, 
the fault rested with the student and the student only.

During our observations of a one-on-one meeting, we noted that students understood this 
philosophy.  Some students made statements such as I wanted to stay home today but I 
knew not to because we would be having our meeting with you.  Those students who did 
not take responsibility for their actions learned that excuses were not accepted.  

When they made excuses about missing school or that they were unaware of the 
attendance requirements, rebuttals were quick and focused.  Officer Farmer promptly 
pointed out the policies and procedures that were documented in their school planners. 
Students were also questioned about their commitment to obtaining an education and 
graduating.  

Officer Farmer made clear that those students not wanting an education should drop out 
and not waste their time or the teachers or other students time.  During the same 
discussion, teachers and officers would talk about the importance of having a high school 
education to succeed in life. This type of realistic but fair approach seemed to seize the 
attention of the students.  It motivated them to try harder and take responsibility for their 
actions. 

In terms of the grant process, Officer Farmer hoped to have the project operational much 
sooner than it was.  She faced bureaucratic hurdles within the County School Board 
processes.  She did not fully understanding these processes and missed important 
deadlines.  She felt substantial time and some resources were misused as a result.  
However, by overcoming these obstacles and building this partnership, future problem 
solving efforts operate more smoothly.

School information on absences.  When the project was conceived, Booker T. 
Washington Middle School ranked 48th out of 48 middle schools in Miami-Dade County 
in terms of attendance rates.   During the period of the project, Booker T. Washington 
School began its transition to a senior high school.  Because of this unusual set of 
circumstances, data were not available to compare the school to other schools.  It 
resembled both a middle school and a high school, making it unlike any other school in 
the county.  However, attendance rate data were available.  

We were able to compare some data and attendance rates among high schools in Miami-
Dade during the response period.  Beginning in the first grading period (fall of 2000), 
Booker T. Washington Senior High School ranked 29th for attendance rates out of 29 
senior high schools in the county. Even so, the actual attendance rate (or percentage of 
attendance) improved slightly from 89.09 to 90.61. Attendance rates improved between 
the same periods in 1999-2000 to 2000-2001.

During the second grading period, Booker T. Washington Senior High School ranked 27th 
out of 29 senior high schools for attendance rates; but when compared to the same period 
in the 1999-2000 school year, the attendance rate dropped slightly from 88.64 to 87.90.
During the third grading period, Booker T. Washington Senior High School moved up to 
26th out of 29 high schools. Once again, when compared to the previous year, the actual 
attendance rate decreased slightly from 89.93 to 88.51.   These small changes can be 
accounted for based upon an increase in the school population in general.  The 
improvements in ranking as compared to other high schools are encouraging as they 
reflect a slow but steady improvement relative to attendance problems within the county 
as a whole.

What was the impact of the efforts to target the 9th grade students and to target those 9th 
graders thought to have borderline dropout potential?  We compared the 2000 
attendance data to the 2001 attendance data for 9th graders only.  In the 1999-2000 school 
year, there were 545 9th graders at Booker T. Washington.  In the 2000-2001 school year, 
the number of 9th graders dropped to 265, a 51 percent drop in the number of students.  It 
is unclear why this drop occurred.  We suspect that the school building could not 
accommodate the same number of students per grade because an additional grade level 
(11 grade) was added.  This increased the overall enrollment in the building before the 
construction of the new facilities was completed.  

To complete this analysis, we compared attendance data for truant students collected 
on May 1, 2000 and on April 25, 2001. These were the comparable weeks during the 
school year. For this analysis, a truant is considered a student with 15 or more 
unexcused absences.

In the 1999-2000 school year, 155 students accumulated 15 or more unexcused absences. 
In the 2000-2001 school year, 150 students accumulated 15 or more unexcused absences, 
a drop of only 5 students from the prior year.  Initially, these findings are discouraging, 
especially given the enrollment decreases.  However, examining the data further shows 
that although the number of students having 15 to 20 unexcused absences increased, the 
number of students having 20 or more unexcused absences decreased by 13 students.

Next we looked at the actual number of unexcused absences and the average number of 
unexcused absences within each of these categories, i.e. students with between 15 and 19 
unexcused absences, students with 20 to 29 unexcused absences and students with more 
than 30 unexcused absences.  The total number of unexcused absences dropped 435 days 
from 3,801 unexcused absences in the 1999-2000 school year to 3,366 unexcused 
absences in the 2000-2001 school year. This is an 11 percent drop in unexcused absences, 
but may be offset by the large enrollment reduction.

Even so, the average number of unexcused absences per truant student fell slightly 
from 24.2 days to 22.4 days.  The average number of unexcused absences for students 
missing 30 or more days fell the most from 42 days to 35 days.  This finding suggests 
that, although the targeted group did not include the worst violators , the efforts did 
impact the borderline students.  



Anecdotal evidence supports this finding.  Of the 31 targeted students that were reached 
on a regular basis, only six continued to have over 15 unexcused absences in the 2000-
2001 school year.  Also, two of the incoming 9th grade students that attended the 
welcome breakfast were truant students as 8th graders, one with 34 unexcused absences 
and one with 47 unexcused absences.  These two students had 16 unexcused absences 
and 19 unexcused absences respectively in the 2000-2001 school year.		

Interviews with Truant Students.   In discussions with some of the targeted students, 
they said they appreciated having the graduation requirements explained.  They were 
confused about the requirements.  Misinformation existed about what classes and what 
attendance levels were required to receive credit for these classes.  For example, one 
student was completely unaware that she had to complete one physical education credit to 
graduate.

Two students were pleased because someone was helping them with social issues. They 
were assisted with issues such as how to obtain school clothing and how to manage care 
for younger siblings while balancing school and a part time job. 

Interviews with Student Leaders.  Student leaders expressed their excitement about 
tackling the issue of attendance.  As leaders they did not like being labeled as the school 
with the highest truancy levels.  They stated how much they enjoyed becoming mentors 
and building school spirit through the breakfast and class competitions in spirit week.

Student leaders enjoyed learning the problem-solving process.  They found it helpful in a 
range of situations.  They also expressed excitement about the opportunity to participate 
in this type of leadership program.

Interviews with School Administrators and Involved Teachers.  Mr. Vidall, the 
assistant principal responsible for attendance issues, expressed his gratitude for the 
project to Chief Raul Martinez of the Miami Police Department.  He stated that gaining a 
better understanding of the truancy issue and working in partnership with the School 
Resource Officer would have lasting benefits to the school.

The teacher responsible for the group consultations stated how important this project was 
to students who struggled to understand high school.  She felt that the presence of the 
officers as role models helped the students understand the importance of education.

Interviews with Parents.  Parents/guardians of truants who agreed to assist with this 
project expressed positive feedback regularly.  They interacted with Officer Farmer and  
contacted her when they needed help encouraging their children to go to school.  They 
expressed their appreciation that officials were interested in helping them with their 
children. However, the number of parents/guardians participating was quite limited.
 
Conclusions

The Miami School-Based Partnership 1998 grant program was successful on a number of 
levels.  First, it was a key part of a comprehensive effort to improve the educational focus 
of a school in a poverty stricken, diverse immigrant community.  Due to the large number 
of projects occurring simultaneously  the transition from a middle school to a high 
school, the designation and resources provided to a Title I High School, the extensive 
construction, the increasing alumni involvement, and many other factors, it is difficult to 
distinguish the precise impact of the grant.  Even so, these accomplishments are 
noteworthy:
- Booker T. Washington school officials sought and received assistance from the 
Miami Police Department.  
- The partnership between the school and the police department was strong and 
continues.
- Team members involved in the project have a better understanding of the truancy 
problem  who is truant, where they are being truant, and what they are doing 
when they are truant.  It seems clear that truant students are not contributing to the 
crime problems in the Overtown area.
- The team involved in this effort determined in the analysis phase that they would 
be successful if they saw a 6 to 10 percent drop in truancy.  While the truancy rate 
did not drop by that percentage, average truancy rates appeared to be dropping. Of 
the 31 students targeted and contacted, 25 students (80%) improved their 
attendance significantly. 
- Those students who participated in the interventions have a clear understanding of 
the school policies and graduation requirements. These students feel they are 
more likely to graduate as a result.

Recommendations 

The experiences of this project suggested that interventions addressing truancy must be 
targeted, individualized and consistently applied.  In future projects, we recommend that:

- Police and school officials targeting truancy as a problem should conduct 
detailed analysis of the problem to cross validate their data and check their 
premises and beliefs about who the truant students are, why they are truant 
and what activities truants engage in.
- Partnerships between school resource officers and school personnel and 
students should be formed at least three months prior to the beginning of the 
school year.  
. Preparation for welcoming and school requirement educations requires 
preparation prior to the beginning of the school year.
. To be effective with one-on-one interventions, officers and teachers 
must identify and reach the students before they have accumulated 
excessive unexcused absences.
- Private funding for intervention supplies, such as alarm clocks and clothing be 
secured prior to the start of the school year.
- Attention should be directed at embracing and involving new students in 
school activities and matching them with student mentors, especially in 
schools with diverse populations and language barriers.
- The messages promoted by programs involving incentives as deterrence to 
truancy should be considered.  When students think about the benefits of 
school, they understand the implicit incentives of obtaining an education 
without the expenses of providing quick response incentives.
  
The worst violators were those students with more than 70 unexcused absences in the 8th grade.