District Attorney hands out 211 free bikes to reduce truancy

This school year 211 Shelby County School students were rewarded for finishing the school year with no absences - not even a tardy, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said Thursday.
    
The students from 10 Shelby County Schools that participated in the District Attorney’s Truancy Reduction Program received free bicycles and helmets for their perfect attendance.
    
This is the second year of the DA’s bikes-for-attendance incentive program. Last year, 268 students qualified for the program.
 
“I would much rather fill the classrooms than fill the jails,” said Gen. Weirich, who helped distribute the bikes Saturday. “We want to reward the kids who are doing the right thing every day.”
    
The program is sponsored by the Hyde Family Foundation and a very generous donation from a friend of Memphis’ youth.
    
The bikes and helmets were distributed last Saturday (May 30^th) in conjunction with the City of Memphis Division of Parks & Neighborhoods "Tour De Memphis Bicycle Rodeo”.  In addition to the DA’s bike distribution, the Parks & Neighborhoods event provided free, hands-on bike activities aimed at teaching and promoting bicycle safety.
 
During the academic year 2005-06, a SCDAG’s office review of crime and truancy statistics showed that one-quarter of juvenile crime in Memphis occurred during school hours away from campuses, most likely involving truant or expelled students.
    
In response, the office’s Truancy Reduction Program was created the following school year to identify at-risk students with excessive unexcused absences and to provide assistance to students, parents and faculty to reduce truancy rates.
  
Since that time, truancy rates have declined each year at the participating schools.
     
The voluntary program matches truant students with trained mentors from the community who work with them and emphasize the importance of daily school attendance.
The truancy mentors are recruited from businesses, churches, colleges and volunteer organizations to work at least one year with the students and make weekly contact with the student. A mentor advocate from the SCDAG’s Office also is involved.
     
Anyone interested in becoming a mentor can contact the Truancy Reduction Program coordinator Megan Pietrowski at 901-222-1395, or apply on the SCDAG’s website.