School Attendance Matters - Final Post

Mornings can oftentimes be a challenge for one person trying to get out the door for school or work. So when there are multiple adults and kids in the house to get ready each morning, that challenge is multiplied without good planning and a routine.  Without those things, tardies to school are often the result.  Tardies to school not only will result in eventual disciplinary action, but can dramatically affect a student's entire school day to follow.  Check-outs on the back end of the day have a similar disruptive effect.

The Jefferson County Board of Education has amended its tardy and checkout policy for the the 2018-2019 school year.  The policy states:

Tardies to School / Check-outs from School

Being tardy to school greatly affects student success and routine.  Tardies include late arrivals to school and early check-outs.  The school may impose disciplinary procedures for excessive tardies as detailed in this code. A parent may excuse up to seven (7) tardies per year for the same reasons an absence may be excused.  Any tardy after seven (7) have been excused by parent note will be unexcused unless excused by a physician or the principal.

While check-outs from school are discouraged by the Board, necessary check-outs must be processed through the school’s office by the parent. The Board encourages that appointments not of a critical nature be scheduled for times and days when school is not in session. Check-outs are considered excused for the same reasons as excused absences. An unexcused check-out will be treated as a tardy.  A student may not make up work that is missed due to an unexcused tardy, check-in or check-out.

As our entire Attendance Matters series has emphasized, we want our kids at school.  Every student, every day.  We know, however, that is not always possible.  We are asking families to help us this year and help your student this year by being on time to school each day and limit the number of check-outs he/she may have to the minimum number possible.

Arriving at school on time allows a students to enter relaxed and sets them up positively for the work day ahead.  Students who are late to school miss out on important announcements from the teacher or from the office that may affect them later in the day.  They miss out on the beginning of instruction impacting their ability to complete work in a timely or successful fashion.  And finally, with middle school students, it helps them avoid the unnecessary and unwanted negative attention for arriving late to school on a regular basis.

I am a father of a herd of boys.  I get it.  They can be challenging to deal with in regards to getting out of bed, getting bathed and dressed, eating, making sure they had everything they needed for not only class, but after school activities.  I understand.  But the reality is (if we are truly honest), most tardies for elementary and middle school students are not a student issue.  They are an adult issue.  These kids can't drive.  Like it or not, for students this age, it generally comes down to adjustments made by the adults in the home, not the children.

School begins at 7:55 A.M. each day.  This year, we will open the car line doors for the gym at 7:25 and close them at 7:50.  Students will be released to their classrooms from morning supervision at 7:45 to go to their lockers and the restroom before reporting to their first period class.  Please start thinking about your morning schedules now.  Help establish routines that will help your student start each day successfully.  If you are pulling in on two wheels at 7:54, your student is going to be late to class.  If a student is late to school, AN ADULT must sign them in to school in the main office.

Likewise, excessive check-outs from school where students miss academic coursework can be problematic.  We have worked to craft our schedule where our advisory time is at the end of the day from 2:30 - 3:05.  This would be an ideal time IF . . . IF the student had to check out, he or she would not miss major work.  Please work to schedule appointments during this time if at all possible.  Also, please do not park in the newly paved lot in front of the school after 2:30 to check out a student or you risk being blocked in by the buses.

As a reminder, a high school sibling is not permitted to check out a middle school sibling from school except in the case of an extreme emergency as approved by the principal.  Families ask me why that is?  Well, there are two reasons. First, I'm really not supposed to release a minor child into the custody of another minor child.  Second, the high school student should be in school, too.  This again is not generally a kid issue, but an adult issue over which we usually have control.

Finally, it is important to remember to bring excuses to the school if the check-in or check-out was for a doctor or court visit.  No make-up work will be permitted for unexcused absences.

We hope that this break-down in the Attendance Matters series has been helpful in communicating our policy and procedures to you.  Please call us at 205-379-3230 or you can e-mail me at mmanning@jefcoed.com.  Thank you for learning with us!

School Attendance Matters (Part Five)

In our last blog post, we stated today's post would center around three specific topics of great interest to students and families.

It should be widely known to middle and high school educators that students come to English, math, science, and social studies classrooms each day for the most part because they HAVE TO come.  The real reason the majority of secondary students WANT TO come to school is for the social aspect of school including athletics, fine arts programs, co-curricular academic programs, field trips, and to make and see friends.  We have said that the sooner we all realize that, the better able we will be to serve all kids in the academic classroom.

As a classroom English teacher, I sometimes wondered how I could make grammar, Shakespeare, research, and writing even close to exciting as the football, basketball, or baseball I coached after school or the productions we put together for the theatre classes.  I have always told my student-athletes and student-artists that the word "student" is first for a reason.  Without doing the first, the second will not be possible.

This year's Code of Student Conduct addresses a student's ability to participate in extracurricular activities when attendance is an issue.  It states:

Attendance and Participation in Extracurricular Activities/ Sports

A student may not participate in extracurricular activities, including but not limited to athletic events, that occur on a school day unless the student is present at school for at least half of the school day, except in emergency or necessary situations as determined by the principal.

Make no mistake about this.  This policy will be enforced.  If you are too sick to be at school for at least a half a day, then you are too sick to play in a game, be in a concert, participate in a pageant, come to a dance, or participate in a competition.  A student must be checked in before 11:30 AM or not check out until after 11:30 AM unless the absence is covered by a note from a physician or a court.  In an emergency situation (as defined by the Code), the family must contact or meet with the principal in order for the student to be able to participate.  This does not include absences from the classroom due to a school-sponsored activity or field trip.

But Mr. Manning?  What if it's our best player versus our biggest rival?  What if we bought the dress already?  What if I have a solo in the play or the concert?  What if . . . . .?  Then those things need to be considered prior to the absence.  This includes weekend events when the absence occurred on the previous Friday.

I think it is a simple, but clear expectation.  At Corner Middle School, our young people are students first.  I believe that communication between the family and the school will be integral to this not becoming an issue.

The second area of focus is on what has always been known to teachers as F.E.A. (Failure Due to Excessive Absences).  This has been in and then out of the Code over the past several years.  The committee who prepares the Code has re-inserted it in this year's policy due to chronic absenteeism affecting individual schools and the district.  The section states:

Failure Due to Excessive Absences

Excessive absences from school or from a class may subject a student to retention in the same grade for the succeeding school year or the denial of credit in a course.  If a student misses seven (7) or more days during a course lasting a semester or fourteen (14) or more days from school for a course or class lasting the whole year, denial of credit or retention may result. 

This is a word of caution to students and their families about the consequences of missed days.  Retention or summer school may be the result of such an attendance issue.  While it has not been a major issue at our school, it has been an issue as late as this past school year with a few students.  Absences affect a student's academic performance.  Families should be aware of the consequences for regular failure to attend school without appropriate reasons. 

The final area of focus really doesn't apply but to just a few students at CMS, but will apply to all students upon transition to Corner High School.  This is in regards to the receipt of and suspension of a driver's permit and a driver's license in the state of Alabama for failing to attend school on a regular basis.

Attendance and Driver’s License

For any student between the ages of fifteen (15) and nineteen (19), the local school must complete an enrollment form for the student to obtain a driver’s license. The school will not complete the enrollment form for any student who has ten (10) or more consecutive unexcused absences or fifteen (15) or more unexcused absences during the semester.  Additionally the school will notify the Department of Public Safety as required by state law (Code of Alabama, 1975 §16-28-40 through §16-28-45) in the event that a student, who has been issued a driver’s license, is absent to the same extent resulting in the suspension of the student’s driver’s license.  

Frequently, we have parents coming to pick up a proof of enrollment form for one thing or another.  If the student has missed an excessive number of days, the school will not complete it for the family.  In the event the student exceeds the maximum number of days after the permit or license has been granted, it is the school's responsibility to notify the Alabama Department of Public Safety who will then suspend driving privileges for the student.

Before anyone gets too upset, this statute has been in place since before any of these students were even born.  The key word is "privilege."  Driving is a privilege; it is not a right.

We felt like it was important to review these three specific sections of the Code in order to be clear on the impact of excessive absences in these areas.  Kids with perfect attendance or very few absences never even think about these issues.  This year, let's have 100% of our kids and families not let any of these focus areas be an issue.

Tomorrow, we will post the last piece in the School Attendance Matters series that has broken down the district's revised attendance policy.  The post will cover the very important issue of tardies to school and checkouts from school.  Remember, if you have any questions regarding any part of the policy, please contact us at 205-379-3230 or by e-mail at mmanning@jefcoed.com.  Thank you for reading this series!!!