COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 28

February 3, 2006

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Regional Truancy Prevention Workshops

The importance of school attendance and the significance of truancy as a predictor of delinquency, school dropout, and other problems is well documented. The Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction with Virginia Commonwealth University, is providing five regional truancy prevention workshops across the commonwealth from March to May. These day-long workshops are focused on addressing how parents, community groups, the courts, and schools can work collaboratively to prevent truancy.

The schedule and locations for the workshops are:

• March 17 Northern Virginia 4-H Center, Front Royal
• March 28 Omni Hotel, Newport News
• April 4 Stonewall Jackson Hotel, Staunton
• April 6 The Institute of Higher Education, Danville
• May 2 Higher Education Center, Abingdon

Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Center for School-Community Collaboration will handle online registration and other logistics. To access the registration information, please visit: www.soe.vcu.edu/csc. Registration for each site is limited to the first 100 participants. Please register early. Deadlines for registration for each workshop are one week prior to the workshop dates.

Questions regarding registration information should be directed to Leslie Smith at (804) 828-1482. Other workshop questions may be directed to Muriel Azria-Evans, Student Services Specialist at (804) 225-4543 or Muriel.Azria-Evans@doe.virginia.gov.

PIW/MAE