AMERICUS — Some four years ago, Coach Jimmy Green, a Sumter County citizen who possesses a vast knowledge of the demographics, family issues and ongoing stresses of citizens of Sumter County, became attendance officer for Sumter County Schools.

Through his capable leadership, a complete protocol of attendance has been formulated. From telephone calls made by Green, school social workers and school administrators in reference to truancy cases reported to Magistrate and State Courts, attendance by Sumter County Schools’ students has reached monumental proportions.

At a recent meeting, Green, along with school social workers, Kim Merritt and Nekethia Smith, met with City of Americus Assistant Police Chief Nelson Brown to initiate county cooperation and increased attention to the truancy and absentee problems of students.

Soon, these two officials will be making contact with Col. Eric Bryant of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

“We must all be on the same page. School attendance is vital to a student’s learning. It a component of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and it is our future. Parents must be held responsible for daily attendance of their children in our schools. With the City Police, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Dept. and my team, we will see additional awareness of this state mandated attendance issue,” said Green.

In a last report from Aug. 3-Oct. 30, 260 home visits were made, 595 telephone calls from all schools, 203 letters were mailed, 165 Support Team meetings held, 15 cases turned into truancy officer, 18 cases turned over to DFCS, six continued on to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and three cases were turned over to Magistrate Court.

There were no cases to reach State Court and no attendance appeals.

Initially, the record keeping presented much larger numbers. "Our students and parents are becoming more aware of our efforts to improve school attendance and tardies. Our school attendance professionals are hard at work to pinpoint student needs and the varied reasons for not attending school," said Green.

For October, Sumter County Schools reported a 96 percent school attendance. Staley Middle School posted a 99 percent attendance rate and all students were honored by Principal Victoria Harris with certificates and goodie bags.

“This 99 percent attendance was due to increased effort by Mrs. Harris and her team concerning the importance of school attendance. I welcome others to join these positive efforts,” continued Green.