School Attendance Matters (Part Four)

We have taken a couple of days off from posting due to the power outages in our area, specifically at our school.  Had this been a school day, this would have been one of the special circumstances that would have constituted an excused absence.  

Before we discuss attendance, I'd like to thank all of the men and women of Alabama Power who have spent the last several days making repairs around our state and specifically at our school.  Thank you for your and your families' sacrifices!

In today's post, we will look at a small section of the attendance policy, but a very important one to your student's grade in his or her classroom.  That is the policy on MAKE-UP WORK.  The updated section in the Code of Student Conduct states:

Makeup Work

A student may only make up work that is missed due to an excused absence.  Makeup work must be completed as soon as possible after the student returns to school but not later than three (3) days after returning unless specific arrangements have been made by the teacher.  When a student is out for an extended length of time, the student should collect, complete, and turn in work weekly unless the nature of the absence prevents the student from doing schoolwork during that time.  It shall be the responsibility of the student or student’s parent (s) or custodian(s) to arrange with each teacher to make up work.  A teacher may require the student to make up work after school hours, in which case advance notice will be given to allow to the student to arrange necessary transportation.  

In my time as a teacher and administrator, I have seen this policy changed several times from three days, to a reasonable amount of time based on the absence and assignment, and back to three days.  I've seen the district's data management system be locked so that a grade for missing work for an unexcused could not be entered by the teacher, and I've seen it unlocked so the teacher could enter the grade.  Let's talk about the policy and how Corner Middle School will administer it.

In the first sentence, the Code says that make-up work may be submitted only when the absence is excused.  Families, this is why it is SO IMPORTANT that you submit a written excuse to the school in a timely fashion when your child is absent.  Work that is not made up and submitted to the teacher will impact your child's grade.

Now, we realize that there is a difference in learning and grading.  We want our students to learn.  Not everyone is wired like me, but I would always encourage work that is missed to be made up regardless of whether a grade is assigned or not.  Yes. I can already hear, "Well, I'm not making them do the work if they aren't getting a grade for it."  

School work should be a part of a lesson plan designed by the teacher to help your student master standards that will grow them for work or study in a real world long after middle school.  We all should work together to promote our students' learning for life in the world to come.

The Code defines the timeline for submitting make-up work.  It uses "as soon as possible" upon return and  "not later than three (3) days" after returning to school.  That standard is the basis for what our teachers will follow. However, the policy also gives a teacher the latitude to work with students individually based on their circumstances.  This is why good communication between the family and the school is so important. 

For students who are absent over extended number of days, families can make arrangements with us to collect make-up work that can be done at home so the student does not get too far behind. After a student has been absent for THREE consecutive days, we will collect work in the office upon the request of the family.   The policy in our Corner Middle School Student-Parent Handbook states:  

Calls to the school to request make-up work for absent students must be received before 8:30 A.M. so that teachers will have time to prepare the assignments.  Assignments may be requested by telephone only for a student who has been or will be absent for more than three days.  Materials requested in this manner should be picked up in the office between 2:30 and 3:00 P.M.  For an absence of less than three days, please contact a classmate or the teacher upon the student’s return to school.

Finally, while we rarely request this of our students and families, a teacher does reserve the right to request that make up missed work outside of school hours.  This usually occurs when a student has gotten so far behind that the deficit impacts his or her opportunity for promotion.  In this case, advanced notice will be given to the family so that transportation is not an issue.

It is vital to the success of the student that he or she makes up missed work following an absence.  Please remember that make-up work for a grade is permissible with and EXCUSED absence.  So families . . . please make it a priority for yourself in 2018-2019 that you submit an excuse to allow your student to make up missed classwork, homework, projects, and tests.

In our next blog post we will discuss three major points of emphasis to the Code:

1. Attendance and Participation in Extracurricular Activities/Sports
2. Failure Due to Excessive Absences
3. Attendance and Driver's Licenses