Two broken arms, severe depression or childbirth may keep students from attending school for a while, but a statewide program works to make sure they are still learning.
“We are always looking to return them to school,” said Peggy Schultz, head of the home and hospital teaching program for Howard County Public Schools. Schultz is slated to speak today at an event with Soroptimist of Howard County, a volunteer organization of professional women.
The program aims to keep continuity in students? instruction while they are temporarily unable to get to class. Students may be out for physical illnesses, an emotional issue such as anxiety disorders or drug abuse, pregnancy or chronic health problems, Schultz said.
In Howard, roughly 250 to 280 students participate in the program each year, which Schultz said was a small percentage of students and comparable to other jurisdictions. About 27,785 students are enrolled in middle and high school in Howard.
Unlike home schooling, where instruction is administered by the students? parents, home teaching is temporary, and students are enrolled in the school district.
Each jurisdiction in the state is required to have a home and hospital teaching program, Maryland Department of Education spokesman Bill Reinhardt said.
In Carroll,the number of students in the program varies from year to year, and most students participate because of illnesses, such as surgery, or in one recent case, two broken arms, said Mary Cashdollar, who oversees the program.
Although the program is available for boys and girls, the issues girls face tend to be unique, Schultz said. Sometimes emotional issues can stem from friendship problems, she said, that if serious enough, can keep a child from attending school.
“There really are additional issues for the girls in schools as well as in society,” Schultz said.
Preparing for her presentation today, she sent out a note to school groups to see how many of them support young girls. She said she got nearly two dozen responses.
“I was really pleased,” she said, adding that these support programs for girls still in school are crucial.
