Attendance is critical to students’ education, however, those with good grades deserve exceptions.
Since students began their education they were told not to stray from the path laid out by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE): stay in school, succeed and strive for good attendance.
“Children need to attend school regularly to learn, to graduate, to be able to continue into post-secondary education and to pursue their dreams,” State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice said, according to michigan.gov.
Supporting this goal, the district implemented a new attendance policy, which also eliminates making up missed hours. After missing 11 classes students are put on a contract, which requires them to pass the class with a D- or above, and improve attendance or they fail the class. It strives to reduce chronic absenteeism. Overall, this policy was created with good intentions. However, it fails to meet students in the middle with a fair compromise.
At first glance, the debate on the new policy seems simple. After all, chronic absenteeism relates to a 16-27 percent decline in math scores and 36-46 percent decline in reading scores, according to Whitehouse.gov. Not to mention, school builds a framework for students’ future careers. Workers can’t constantly call in from work without getting fired. Likewise, students can’t constantly miss school and not face repercussions.
That said, the new policy went from one extreme to the other. Previously, students took advantage of the credit review policy with too many absent days and making up the hours in Saturday school, according to associate principal Scott May. Additionally, 14.1 percent of the school’s students missed 10 or more days, according to mischooldata.org. However, instead of re-framing the former hour make-up process, the district opted to eliminate it altogether.
This change may scare students into coming to school. Or more will fail. Successful students possess a driven mindset. The students who come to school developed the habit of doing so years ago. While this new policy may force some students through the school doors, it doesn’t guarantee higher grades or the success the M.D.E. administration claims comes with good attendance.
Every student in the district possesses a school laptop and uses Schoology. Therefore, it’s an option to catch up on missed school work with directions and assignments often available online. In some classes, students who come to school spend the entire hour on their laptop anyways with minimal teacher assistance.
Another issue is sick days. The policy allows excused absences if students provide a doctor’s note. However, on days when students wake with pounding migraines, stomach cramps or a common cold, they don’t visit the doctor. This policy forces successful, but under the weather students to choose between an unexcused absence or attending school sick.
If students have good grades, they should earn exceptions. Students should be allowed to keep their cold at home or go on a family vacation without worrying about failing a class where they regularly hold and earn A’s.
It’s time the district stops viewing student attendance in black and white; instead those grey situations deserve exceptions.
Click here to read the correlating news story: Credit review changes – Ike News
