Judge in Port Arthur, TX Stands Behind AIM Program

JudgeGillamAttendanceImprovementManagementJudge Tom Gillam in Port Arthur, TX recently held a meeting in his courtroom to showcase the Attendance Improvement Management (AIM) program and its abilities.

“It provides sustainable results,” said Judge Gillam. “It empowers them to stay in school.”

The complete transcript from local CBS TV affiliate KFDM News is below.

J.P. Tom Gillam working on program to combat truancy

August 05, 2009 7:00 PM

PORT ARTHUR – A device that’s part phone and part GPS could help prevent kids from playing hooky and catch them if they do, according to Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam.

Gillam hosted a meeting in his courtroom Wednesday to allow representatives of Attendance Improvement Management to
explain to educators, city and county leaders from across the area, and law enforcement officers, the company’s system for
preventing truancy and finding students who are truant.

He said the company is based in Dallas and helps school districts in Texas and across the nation.

AIM focuses on at-risk children on the verge of dropping out of school. It monitors them for six weeks with the assistance of a
hand-held device about half the size of a cell phone. Each child is given the device and the company employs people to call
students to wake them up, make sure they get on the school bus and get home by a certain hour. Students must sign in the
device with their teacher, and sign out whenever they leave the classroom or campus. A GPS system in the device will
monitor students and indicate to authorities where the student is located.

“It provides sustainable results,” said Judge Gillam. “It empowers them to stay in school.”

Judge Gillam said truancy and low graduation rates are major problems across the nation, especially among minorities.

“The U.S. ranks 18th in high school graduation rates among developed nations,” said Judge Gillam. “We’re 15th in college
graduation rates. Nearly half of all African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans in public schools will not graduate
with their class.”

Gillam said more than 1.2 million students drop out each year and he points to statistics indicating students who are truant or
who drop out are at much greater risk of committing crimes and going to jail.

Preventing truancy is a cost saver, according to Gillam. He said a child criminal incarcerated for a lifetime can cost society
$2.3 million. He said school districts lose a lot of state aid each day for every child who misses school.

Judge Gillam will meet with residents of Prince Hall Villa from 1-5 p.m. August 21 to discuss the importance of remaining in
school. He’s also working with area churches to set up forums to allow the community to hear more about the AIM program.