Yeah! New Board Members!

Letter to the Editor: The new School Board has some serious issues to address. The Roanoke Times reported this week that Lackey said “the school system’s high rankings and awards are proof that the administration and school board have been successful.” This year was the worst of the 3 years reported! If we look at [...]

Substitute Teacher Speaks Out About Being Fired For Opposing School Attendance Policy

One of many very sad results from this policy issue is that the schools have had one less experienced substitute since Dr. Lackey fired me for speaking my opinion which opposed his. This would not be a big deal except that I have always been very flexible- they could call me in the middle of [...]

Kari H, you are exactly right on that “target” mention. I was a PTA leader for 10 years in the Bedford County school system and I had many parents bring concerns and questions to me because they were afraid of retaliation tactics against them or their child if they spoke out and in a taxpayer [...]

A large part of the problem with the attendance policy is their definition of “excused absence”. My daughter threw up at school. The nurse called and told me I had to pick her up. She continued throwing up for the remainder of the day and into the next afternoon. I found out that 2 of [...]

I do not know Carol Duvall but I do applaud her efforts since I am a parent of a FCHS student! I am going to state MY facts of dealings with FCHS attendance policy! I have a child with Asthma/Severe Allergies/IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and he has braces which requires frequent orthodontist visits! He had [...]

One of my proposed policies

Their “early intervention” is not intervention at all. My proposals to them would be intervention. The parent and student will be asked to meet with a member of the attendance committee when their child has missed a fourth day. The student will lose 2 points from their 9 week grade for each unexcused absence. I [...]

I fully agree with all the first part of the roundtable comments about the policy allowing too many skipped days and that many kids will take advantage of every day given them. That is why I propose a stricter policy for unexcused absences. Students that skip should get immediate consequences. The current policy gives them [...]

As a parent of 7 – most of which are in AP or pre-AP courses, a CPA, a substitute for many of the last 13 years, a bank financial manager and policy writer for years and a coach, I am more in touch with students and policies than almost anyone else. This is the first [...]

Brian Duvall: “At no time did she use class time to lobby against the policy nor did the school system accuse her of such.  ”Advocating” for something is not wrong. If you go to lunch with your office buddy and mention you feel strongly about a work policy and why, you are in the right [...]

The policy was created to ensure students get enough class time so that they can master the subject being taught. Another key problem with the attendance policy is that it ignores student performance. A student will get an F for missing school even when they have pre-arranged the absence with their teachers, done all the [...]

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