The Truancy Intervention Center is designed as a one-stop-shop for counseling and educational resources to get kids re-engaged in school.

It's housed in West Middle School and has actually been open for a week. But Tuesday marked the official ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the center.

It's aimed at chronically truant kids, meaning those who miss 18 days or more in a school year. Kids can be dropped off at the site when found skipping, and after an assessment, staff members tailor programming to fit the student's needs.

Organizers say in the past week, they're already begun working with nine chronically truant students. Staff members meet every day with the kids and their families. The first step is identifying the root causes keeping the student from school.

"Transportation, they don't have shoes, they don't have clothes, they don't have coats," says Superintendent LaVonne Sheffield. "There are a few who don't want to come because they just don't want to come. There are kids who can't read and they don't want to be embarrassed. We have to find non-traditional kinds of environments for them."

Dr. Sheffield says Rockford police are still helping pick up kids found out of school during the day, then bringing them to the truancy center. The more punitive citation and court process is also still an option in the most serious truancy cases.

The truancy center cost around 88-thousand dollars. But District leaders say it will pay for itself through increased state aid, if as few as 14 chronically truant students start attending school regularly.