A community's campaign

North Charleston police and community and faith-based leaders united on Monday to ask parents to send their children to school on the first day, and they announced a door-to-door campaign to further that cause.

More than 3,500 Charleston County students failed to show up for the first day of school last year, and officials said that's unacceptable. They said students who are absent in the first few days of school fall behind their classmates, so it's critical that they be present.

This is the second year the Charleston school district has worked with local police to create awareness around the need for students to show up on the first day.

Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley met earlier this year with local police chiefs and asked for help on this issue, and she said North Charleston officials were quick to take the lead in creating the initiative.

About 45 percent of county students who failed to enroll during the first 10 days last year go to school in North Charleston. McGinley said she expected other local police and government agencies to announce similar efforts in coming weeks.

North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt said police and government officials wanted to help because children need to develop good habits at an early age, and going to school is one of those. Those who don't go to school are more likely to drop out, and a majority of those in local prisons are high school dropouts, he said.

Mayor Keith Summey said it's the parents' jobs — not schools or governments — to make sure their children are in school. Education in North Charleston needs some help, and the school district "can't do everything," he said.

"We're going to make these parents live up to their responsibility," he said.

Members from Inner City Ministries, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and other North Charleston churches plan to go door-to-door delivering notices about the first day of school, which is Aug. 19. They plan to hand out backpacks and school supplies to those living in the Ferndale/Russelldale and Charleston Farm neighborhoods, and North Charleston ministers will preach in their churches about the need for students to be in school on the first day. Their campaign slogan is, "It's cool to be in school."

Zumalt said he will assign 12 officers to area schools during the first two weeks to help locate absent students. The officers will go out into the community and knock on absent students' doors, he said.

In the past, school guidance counselors, resource officers and principals have gone out to students' homes to track them down, but McGinley said that in doing so, those employees leave behind other work at school.

The new partnership will bring a new intensity to outreach efforts targeted at those families, she said.

Regular patrol officers also will be on the lookout for school-age children, and they will be approached by police if they are not in school during school hours, Zumalt said.

McGinley said some reasons students miss the first few weeks of school are that parents don't know the date school starts, some parents feel they can't send their children to school without a proper uniform and some teenagers don't think the first few days are important. She asked parents to reach out to the school district if they had problems finding uniforms.

ABCs of getting your child ready for 1st day of school

Berkeley County School District

What information do I need to register my child for school?

Completed registration form, completed health form, child's birth certificate, child's Social Security card, two proofs of residency with street address and immunization records. Parents are encouraged to register their children as soon as possible at their children's schools.

What time does school start and end?

Most elementary schools start between 7:20 and 8 a.m. and dismiss between 2 and 3:10 p.m. Middle schools start between 7:50 and 8:40 a.m. and dismiss between 3:15 and 3:50 p.m. High schools start between 7:20 and 7:55 a.m. and dismiss between 2:40 and 2:55 p.m.

Whom do I call if the bus doesn't show up?

Moncks Corner and Whitesville schools: 899-8804/8531; Cross schools: 899-5616/5621; Goose Creek, Sedgefield, Boulder Bluff, Hanahan, Cainhoy and Daniel Island schools: 820-3703/3793, Stratford, Cane Bay, Sangaree, College Park, Devon Forest and Westview schools: 820-403 2/3862; St. Stephen, Timberland, J.K. Gourdin, Macedonia and H.E. Bonner schools: 567-8430/8431.

How much do meals cost?

Breakfast: $1

Lunch $1.75

Make checks payable to the Berkeley County School District.

Which schools have uniforms or dress codes?

The Daniel Island School has optional uniforms.

Charleston County School District

What information do I need to register my child for school?

Original birth certificate and Social Security card, if available; a state certificate of immunization and two proofs of residency; for new students, any records from previous schools. If your child attends a magnet school or is new to a school, go to Charleston.net to see the documents required for address verification. Parents are encouraged to register their children as soon as possible at their children's schools.

What time does school start and end?

Check Charleston.net for the start times and dismissal times for every Charleston school.

Whom do I call if the bus doesn't show up?

Durham School Services: 725-3170.

How much do the meals cost?

Breakfast: $1.25

Lunch: $2

Make checks payable to Charleston County School District food services. Put child's name at the bottom of the check.

Which schools have uniforms or dress codes?

Fifty-three schools have uniforms or dress codes. Check with your child's school.

Dorchester County District 2

What information do I need to register my child for school?

A current electric bill in parent/guardian's name and address, and a second document verifying that address; a $20 registration fee. For students new to the area, the child's birth certificate, proof of residency in form of electric bill in parent/guardian's name and a second document verifying that address and withdrawal papers from previous school/report card, other health forms and immunization records. Registration days are Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.

What time does school start and end?

Elementary schools start at 7:25 a.m. and dismiss at 2:10 p.m.; middle schools start at 8:30 a.m. and dismiss at 4 p.m. except for Rollings Middle School of the Arts, which starts at 8:30 a.m. and dismisses at 3:30 p.m.; and high schools start at 7:25 a.m. and dismiss at 2:55 p.m.

Whom do I call if the bus doesn't show up?

Call 873-6196 or the child's school.

How much do meals cost?

Breakfast: 85 cents

Lunch: elementary and middle schools, $1.40; high schools, $1.50.

Make checks payable to Dorchester County School District 2.

Which schools have uniforms or dress codes?

No uniforms.

Dorchester County District 4

What information do I need to register my child for school?

Child's birth certificate, copy of child's Social Security card, immunization records and proof of residency with family's address. Check with your child's school or Charleston.net for registration days and times.

What time does school start and end?

All schools start between 7:20 and 7:55 a.m.; elementary schools dismiss at 2:30 p.m. and middle and high schools dismiss at 3 p.m.

Whom I do call if the bus doesn't show up?

Call 563-5921 or your child's school.

How much do meals cost?

Breakfast is free.

Lunch costs $1.25.

Make checks payable to Dorchester County School District 4.

Which schools have uniforms or dress codes?

Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary has optional uniforms.