The Indianapolis Star‘s editorial board has done a good job analyzing the problem of empty seats in classrooms, by taking a hard look at truancy in their area. Through a series of in-depth editorials (look in the right-hand column for this series), the newspaper analyzes reasons for truancy and the long-term effect on the community. The paper also provides additional comments by editorial writers in their opinion blog, Expresso, where you can check out reader response. To round out the package, there’s audio (listed at the bottom of the package) from parents, a judge and school officials who deal with the issue of truancy every day.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Around the Web blog.