Ogdensburg City School District

Ogdensburg Free Academy hired Scott Sargent for the role of student support coordinator to focus on improving attendance rates in the school. The district realized that about 29% of students were considered chronically absent – missing 18 days of school throughout the year – and wanted to address the issue. Sargent works tirelessly each day to make contact with families and discern the root of why students are unable to attend school.

Scott Sargent grew up in Ogdensburg and was a Boys and Girls Club kid, walked the same hallways where he now works, and raised his family in Ogdensburg. “Always bleed blue for life” is not only a message he shares with his students, but he lives and believes in it. This statement deeply defines the passion, empathy and concern he puts forth each day as an advocate for students and families at Ogdensburg Free Academy. 

Meaningful Connections In Education

Sargent has been working in education and coaching for 30+ years, which has allowed him to gain trust amongst students, colleagues, administration and families in the districts he’s served. He started his career as a teacher in Lyme Central School District, near Watertown, N.Y. From there he finished out his 26-year teaching career at Heuvelton Central School District. He’s certified to teach English, but has had the opportunity to teach multiple subject areas and grade levels, as well as coach at every level from elementary school through college. In addition to teaching and coaching, Sargent is an independent contractor for the Positivity Project, working extensively for the last several years. 

During his final year at Heuvelton, the district was transitioning sixth grade from three classes down to two. Knowing he would retire the following year, Sargent suggested there might be a better way he could serve the district. It was mutually agreed upon that he would assume the role of student support coordinator where he would meet with students, go into classrooms to teach Positivity Project lessons and assist with the activity period throughout the day in the middle and high schools. 

His role as the student support coordinator during his final year at Heuvelton springboarded him to his current role with Ogdensburg Free Academy as student support coordinator. Sargent knew he wanted to continue to work after retiring from Heuvelton and one of his options was to proceed with his work in education. He met with superintendent of schools, Kevin Kendall, to see if his expertise could be utilized in any capacity and it was a resounding yes from Kendall. “When I met with Scott, we discussed chronic absenteeism within the district, and knew, with his ability to make connections with people, that he would be the perfect fit for the job,” said superintendent of schools Kevin Kendall. “With his extensive years of teaching and coaching, coupled with his work ethic, I trusted that he would take this seriously and work with faculty, staff, students and families to help improve attendance rates of the children in our district.”  After their conversation, Sargent was inspired to take on the issue. 

Deep Roots In Ogdensburg

Sargent believes that only Ogdensburg natives are able to see things the way he does. This perspective is enabling him to make valuable connections with a variety of members of the community, some new acquaintances and some he’s known his entire life.

Sargent has three children:  a daughter Sydney, a school nurse in Syracuse; a son Cale, a graduate of St. Lawrence University (SLU), residing in Saratoga, and a son Trent, who is completing his senior year at SLU. 

Growing up, his children were members of and worked at the Boys and Girls Club. Now, he’s making connections with families from when his kids worked there. Furthermore, Sargent’s father had seven siblings and the branches of his family are far-reaching within the Ogdensburg community. The connections he’s made have been immeasurable and have only added to the success he’s experienced within the first few months on the job. 

A Love Of The People, The City, And Belief In The Students

Each one of Sargent’s days starts in the same way, but not one ends the same. He begins by printing out the middle school and high school attendance sheets. When reviewing the attendance data, he looks for patterns. For example, if students have been absent two consecutive days. He then identifies contacts for outreach for the day. Since mid-November, he has connected with more than 200 families, discovering a long list of reasons as to why students are not present at school. Each student and family situation is different and Sargent works to find the root of the problem, knowing that is how he becomes an agent of change. 

Reasons for absenteeism can range from students not receiving proper rest at night, anxiety with another student or a particular class, fear of not succeeding, and nothing about school appeals to them. Furthermore, a lack of transportation is an issue; the district has sent transportation in the middle of the school day to retrieve a student. Sargent has even left the building and walked to a student’s house and walked back to school with them. He is often witness to difficult situations, however he enjoys helping every single day in any way that he can. Sargent reminds his wife to tell him before he walks out the door each day that all he can do – today – is the best he can do. 

Attendance Efforts

While Sargent has never considered himself a data guy, he spends most of his day reviewing  data. He says one of the most effective ways to get a student to come to school is knowing that they have at least one caring adult they can count on. That is exactly what he aims for in the work that he does. He has a unique role in that he’s not a teacher, so he doesn’t assign homework or give out detention, but he’s able to have honest, truthful conversations with students and they know he cares.

Incentives can be positive ways to motivate students; however, they don’t work in every situation. Students who are in school every day and have achieved perfect attendance must be rewarded. They may be experiencing the same challenges as other students, but manage to make it to school. In the first marking period, there were approximately 40 students with perfect attendance. Sargent entered those students into a drawing for two gift certificates to Buster’s. In addition, he also recognized two students who had improved their attendance dramatically based on last year’s data. 

If students are absent for any reasons other than illness, the school district can help. The guidance office at OFA has made changes in student schedules to get students to school. The school is taking a holistic approach whereby they are placing students’ wellbeing above academics. Academics are important, but not more so than a student’s emotional welfare. Parents have reached out to Sargent to thank him for reaching out and caring. He praises the district for recognizing the issue and taking steps to find ways to help their children. They truly care about students and will go above and beyond to help them. 

A final piece of information Sargent emphasized is that the public is often quick to conclude that students are not attending school because their parents don’t care. This is quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. They do care and want what’s best for their kids, but may need a little help and that’s what Sargent and the Ogdensburg City School District are striving for.