Excused vs Unexcused

[barkley]

madge-kind of off the subject but-interesting concept with linking attendance to the final exam. my kids went to a private school that had a policy in the middle school and jr. high that the students would be exempt from final exams if they were carrying an "A" in the class at the end of the quarter. they did not offer this to the high school students because they believed that the students going on to college would need to know how to prepare and take finals. my kids were way too young to be involved in this practice but my baby sitter's daughter managed to complete all of middle and jr. high school without ever taking a final exam . i'm curious-has the school shown an increased attendance with this policy? also (not sure where you live)-the majority of california's public highschools are the only level of public education that don't offer modified scheduals-they always say it's because of traditional and mid year graduates needing to have grades and transcripts that fall into traditional school scheduals. for college apps. how does it work on a modified sched. as far as graduation goes-is it still at the end of may or early june?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

To some extent our funding is tied to attendance - more students = more dollars. We also have a large Hispanic population, and apparently many of the parents are migrant farm workers. They don't send their kids to school until after Labor Day because that's how the harvest falls. I never realized that until I switched DS from private to public school and had to fill out some very odd forms.

The schools have a big push going to educate the parents on the back-to-school date so the kids don't miss the first 3 weeks. (We go back August 15). But I guess some of the parents still wait until after Labor Day. Which would mean those kids have missed 15 days before they even get started!

In their infinite wisdom the Texas legislature is now proposing a law that ALL Texas schools be required to wait until after Labor Day to start the year. That would mean ALL of the breaks during the year are severely cut back. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break would all be shorter. Well, that means families who can't (or choose not to) travel in the summer will probably go ahead and travel during the school year and the kids will miss a few days. And it will be UNexcused. Stupid. For a state that has so little interest in education they sure seem to be interested in whether or not my child is sitting in the classroom, and they are willing to spend countless dollars in court fees to make sure that's where he is.

 

[madge]

madge-kind of off the subject but-interesting concept with linking attendance to the final exam. my kids went to a private school that had a policy in the middle school and jr. high that the students would be exempt from final exams if they were carrying an "A" in the class at the end of the quarter. they did not offer this to the high school students because they believed that the students going on to college would need to know how to prepare and take finals. my kids were way too young to be involved in this practice but my baby sitter's daughter managed to complete all of middle and jr. high school without ever taking a final exam . i'm curious-has the school shown an increased attendance with this policy? also (not sure where you live)-the majority of california's public highschools are the only level of public education that don't offer modified scheduals-they always say it's because of traditional and mid year graduates needing to have grades and transcripts that fall into traditional school scheduals. for college apps. how does it work on a modified sched. as far as graduation goes-is it still at the end of may or early june?

I don't know what, if any, effect the policy has on attendance. The reality is that some kids won't come to school, no matter what the incentive is.

It's all about the money. More kids at school=more $$ for the system. I hate it, and agree with your thinking in regards to college prep. Things are the way they are, and I make the best of it, LOL. There's also a tie-in with GPA, too...if you have perfect attendance & an A average, there's a reward for that, too. I don't have my son's school handbook in front of me right now to know exactly how it's all worded.

Graduation is the last week of May. We go 175-180 days a year.

 

[Hodder]

To some extent our funding is tied to attendance - more students = more dollars. We also have a large Hispanic population, and apparently many of the parents are migrant farm workers. They don't send their kids to school until after Labor Day because that's how the harvest falls. I never realized that until I switched DS from private to public school and had to fill out some very odd forms.

The schools have a big push going to educate the parents on the back-to-school date so the kids don't miss the first 3 weeks. (We go back August 15). But I guess some of the parents still wait until after Labor Day. Which would mean those kids have missed 15 days before they even get started!

In their infinite wisdom the Texas legislature is now proposing a law that ALL Texas schools be required to wait until after Labor Day to start the year. That would mean ALL of the breaks during the year are severely cut back. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break would all be shorter. Well, that means families who can't (or choose not to) travel in the summer will probably go ahead and travel during the school year and the kids will miss a few days. And it will be UNexcused. Stupid. For a state that has so little interest in education they sure seem to be interested in whether or not my child is sitting in the classroom, and they are willing to spend countless dollars in court fees to make sure that's where he is.

Do most schools start before Labor Day Weekend?? Here students start usually the Wed. after Labor Day weekend, 1 day for Thanksgiving (October), 1 day for Rememberence Day (November), 2 weeks for Christmas, 1 week for Easter and finish up towards the end of June (June 26th this year).

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

One of the differences between excused and unexcused absences at our schools is that with excused absences the child can make up the missed work for credit with unexcused absences the child will get a 0 for any missed work - so in the long run too many unexcused absences would definately effect a child's grade in that class especially if the unexcused absence falls on a test day.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Do most schools start before Labor Day Weekend?? Here students start usually the Wed. after Labor Day weekend, 1 day for Thanksgiving (October), 1 day for Rememberence Day (November), 2 weeks for Christmas, 1 week for Easter and finish up towards the end of June (June 26th this year).

Right now I am pretty sure ALL Texas schools start sometime in August. My DS9 started 4th grade today. Some of the districts were back in session last week. For the most part the only schools returning after Labor Day are preschools - even the private schools will go back before the first of September.

I was talking with another mom this morning about the proposed changes, and we both think parents will take their kids out for extra days if the policy changes so that Spring Break, Christmas, and Thanksgiving are cut short. Then they will have more "unexcused" than they can shake a stick at. The more they mess with things the worse it will get.

 

[ShellyL]

OUr district does educational days. I am putting our children in for educational days in September when we go. I am not really worrying about what they claim them. I heard James Dobson say one time that you just need to make the decision what is best for you and your family and do it. Is the time with the family more educational then school?