Truancy in L.A.

* Your series on truancy in Los Angeles high schools (June 28-29) and the lack of computers in these same classrooms have a connection that may not be immediately evident.

The push for computer literacy is a laudable goal but targets the wrong learners. In order for teachers to become excited about technology they have to use it personally. There should be a computer on every teacher’s desk to handle all their class paperwork. They should be networked to the main office and the attendance office for two-way communications.

Presently attendance is manually recorded and one period is sent by messenger, to be tallied by hand for “official” counts that produce those auto-dialer absence calls and on which average daily attendance is figured. Every five weeks teachers submit attendance figures for all periods they teach and that tally appears on progress reports that are sent to parents. The ability to know which periods are missed by which students on a daily basis would quickly identify the problem and allow intervention in a timely manner.

JON WALLENIUS

Teacher, Venice High School