For parents of children who attend public school, but who also would like them to attend Raven’s Wood Outdoor School for Renegades one day a week, there is an obstacle.
Because Vermont’s Agency of Education does not yet recognize Raven’s Wood as an approved or recognized independent school, a public school student who also attends Raven’s Wood one day a week would be considered truant, Rebecca Holcombe, Vermont’s Education secretary, said in a telephone interview.
No such constraint exists for children who are in a state-approved, home-school program.
“A child between the ages of 6 and 16 is truant unless the parents enroll the child in: a public school, approved or recognized independent school, or a home study program,” Holcombe wrote in a letter to the school’s founder, Cindy Perry.
“Under statute, students who attend Raven’s Wood would need to be enrolled in a homeschooling plan in order to avoid being marked truant, given the amount of time they would be out of the educational program at whatever school in which they would otherwise be enrolled,” Holcombe wrote.
Perry disagreed with this interpretation, saying that, after researching the question, she believes that because each school and school board reserves some control to determine policy, schools could permit students to attend Raven’s Wood using excused absences.
“Each town or school board should have their own policy about that. It’s up to them to decide whether it’s an excused or unexcused absence,” Perry said.
Vermont statute 16 V.S.A § 1123 stipulates that “(a) The superintendent of a public school may excuse, in writing, any student from attending the school for a definite time, but for not more than ten consecutive school days and only for emergencies or for absence from town.”
But one school superintendent said that his first consideration about outside programs is whether it’s approved by the state.
“Unless it’s recognized by the state of Vermont, I just won’t go there,” said Bruce Labs, superintendent of the White River Valley Supervisory Union in Royalton, which includes eight schools within its purview.
Perry said she is not currently interested in seeking state recognition as an approved or recognized independent school, because children come only one day a week.
Perry agreed that there does need to be a statute on truancy, but that sending a child one day a week to a program like Raven’s Wood need not be an insurmountable challenge for the Vermont Agency of Education, schools and parents.
“I want to reassure teachers and parents that there are ways to do this that don’t make extra work for teachers. … I want to work with people on the local and individual level,” Perry said.
Nicola Smith can be reached at nsmith@vnews.com.