University of La Verne Alumna Honored for Her Study on Truancy

When Maria Fernandez-Elvira ‘18 came to the United States 11 years ago, she spoke little English and feared public speaking.

Last month, the University of La Verne Master of Public Administration alumna stood before an audience at a national public administrator’s conference to present a case study on increasing public school attendance. That would have been a victory in itself, but she also received an award and an invitation to submit her paper to an academic journal.

“I was happy to present my research, but I wasn’t expecting to win,” she said.

A panel at the National Conference Of Minority Public Administrators in Los Angeles gave Fernandez-Elvira a third place award and $500. The Hacienda Heights woman was the only non-faculty member to be honored.

“The paper is quite informative and addresses an important educational administration strategy others may follow,” said Professor of Public Administration Dr. Jack Meek. “It is cutting-edge kind of work.”

Meek and three students in the Doctor of Public Administration program also presented at the conference.

Fernandez-Elvira is the liaison for the Fullerton Unified School District’s School Attendance Review Board and its Saturday School Opportunity Recover Program. She featured the district’s two attendance programs for her Master of Public Administration graduate seminar capstone paper because they have dramatically reduced the district’s truancy rate.

About 10 percent of students – roughly 140 per day – were considered truant across the Fullerton district’s 20 schools in 2011. The truancy rate has since declined to three percent and the district has recovered more than $1 million in Average Daily Attendance revenue from increased attendance.

The two programs work because they are governed by representatives from community organizations, educate parents about truancy laws and regulations, and give students the chance to make up for missed days on the weekend.

Fernandez-Elvira, who earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in Guatemala, came to the U.S. after getting married. She spent more than a year learning English, and then set out to further her education. She found her home at the University of La Verne, and pursued a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration through the Campus Accelerated Program for Adults.

She decided to keep going, obtaining an MPA as well.

“That experience has changed my life,” Fernandez-Elvira said. “La Verne gave me the tools to express myself through public speaking.”