Possible Solutions

Dr. Lackey asked us to trust him to make the right decisions for our students because of his experience.

Sorry Dr. Lackey, but your experience sometimes will not carry over into having the most wisdom on all topics.

For those of you that will read the page, “What others are doing,” you will see that other schools do not often flunk kids based on attendance.  If the student does the work to earn an A, B or whatever, that is what they should receive.

It would be acceptable to reduce a grade point average by a point or two for each unexcused absence. Therefore, most students would lose the same amount instead of how the policy takes A’s to F’s for the same # of absences that takes D’s to F’s.

It is okay to say, “We will give the kids that have excessive absences a chance to pass the semester (10 absences if you do not attend Saturday Schools) by just flunking them in the quarter in which they have greater than 10 unexcused absences.”  But that should just be done when they are looking back at a semester for an individual that had too many absences for the semester.

Brian equates it to “accrued vacation days ” like most people have at work.  If you haven’t used up all the days or absences, then you get to use them in another grading period.

According to what is written for the other schools, our administration has all the flexibility they need to accommodate the unique situations that arise.

They can define unexcused absences like many do as “one for which the parent or guardian does not have prior knowledge, consent, and/or legitimate reason.”

Like other Virginia schools, they can include in excused absences, “situations in which an exemption from attendance appears to be in the best interests of the student and his/her family.”

In fact, the state rules do not indicate that a student must lose credit for the class in which there was excessive absenteeism.

The school system has been given many ideas on improving attendance:

Source: Virginia Department of Education, Improving School Attendance, A Research Guide for Virginia Schools, 2005.

•    The primary element of this section with respect to identification is that an “unexcused absence” is defined as one in which the parents are unaware and non-supportive of their child’s nonattendance.

In Virginia, each division school adopts its own truancy policy.
•    Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, school divisions may choose among:
o    attendance,
o    science,
o    writing, or
o    history and social science.
Factors Identified by Youth for Truancy and School Dropout
•    Lack of motivation
•    Family problems at home
•    Gang violence
•    Drug abuse
•    Bullying
•    Negative peer pressure
•    Teenage pregnancy
•    Stress and anxiety
•    Boredom

Youth Identified Obstacles to Truancy and School Dropout (cont.)
•    Support from family
•    Peer pressure
•    Lack of empathy from school administrators
•    Additional teacher support (tests, personal)
•    Culture
•    Parent’s denial of student behavior
•    Overcoming low self-esteem

Resources Youth Identified as Positive for Truancy and School Dropout
•    After school activities and centers
•    Older teenagers as mentors
•    Positive community leaders
•    Youth counselors
•    Family court (in some states)
•    Imposing mandatory GPAs to participate in sports

Youth Identified Steps to Curb Truancy and School Dropout
•    Anonymous peer counselors
•    Additional tutoring for standardized tests
•    Provide programs to improve low self-esteem
•    Changing the image of attending school
•    Provide after school jobs
•    Additional information on trade schools and careers
•    Increase teacher training
•    Improve school security
•    Stiffer penalties for chronic truants (family court)

• House Bill 1826: Gives schools the ability to go to court and ask a judge to suspend the driver’s license of a student who drops out of school or runs up 10 or more consecutive unexcused absences. Status: Passed both houses of the General Assembly.