Increase Absenteeism in Midle/Upper SES students not due to illness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child doesn't go regularly and turns in all homework and assignments on their own. The teachers arent teaching or doing much except for grading papers and taking attendance there is no reason to go in. My children learn in their own through a combination of ai and tutoring. The teachers grade the submissions , total scam school system.

This....and if they don't like your kids it's easy to fail the kids they don't like. There is no transparency on grading-no accountability with schools and teachers. FCPS is a scam. We also have tutors

yes agree and the teachers can't get the grades into sis on a weekly basis

[Anonymous]

My kids hate to miss school, so we don’t do it for vacations. But my oldest does have a fair number of sports conflicts during school this year. She’s really annoyed by it, but she doesn’t control the schedule, and isn’t ready to quit.

She has come home quite a bit this year for health issues. That’s a first for us, so I don’t know if it’s high school or puberty or what. She has straight A’s in honors classes, so I’m not going to sweat it, but I think the wonky schedule has made it easier to not miss school. We have waaaay more time to schedule doctors appointments and take a total break on a random Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a combination of parents remembering how schools handled covid-it was hey kids teach yourself, you don't need to be in person, and the calendar. For years the schools have sent the message that regular attendance doesn't matter.

I think there is a true lack of educating happening at FCPS schools and kids and parents know it. If students have to teach themself and teachers shrug shoulder at students learning...well expect families to quietly quit.

A lot of parents are completely delusional. Some of you would believe anything your kid said. I can promise you in my class it would be almost impossible to get an A and miss tons of days. For one it’s chemistry, which is probably harder than a lot of subjects. Two I assign a decent amount and all of our summative grades are test and quizzes on paper so there is no way to fake it or cheat online. Now these kids are cheating on everything and some of the older teachers don’t do a great job at disallowing so it may be possible but I guarantee if they are missing school they are not learning even 50% of what they would in school. Please go attend with your child one day so he can see through the lies of your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an epidemic of teen anxiety and school avoidance. I don't know why it isn't getting more attention. Someone needs to ask what is going on at school that is causing so much anxiety that kids will stop going to avoid it.

One huge thing is the state of the world and our country. Another major unspoken thing is that all our children have had Covid many, many, many times by now, sometimes when we all thought it was just a cold, or maybe asymptomatic, yet still damaging internally. Covid virus crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes brain inflammation and other myriad problems with mood, anxiety, a host of physical symptoms that are easy to dismiss as caused by typical things, but it’s Covid damage to all our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not an FCPS calendar issue. It’s a problem all over. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-34.html

Damage from Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a coach and I can tell you they don’t care much about sports either. We try and do a few things in the offseason and almost nobody comes to anything. We are truly created mindless robots and most parents don’t see it.

I could not care less about h.s. sports and have three kids, but I don’t know why others aren’t going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an epidemic of teen anxiety and school avoidance. I don't know why it isn't getting more attention. Someone needs to ask what is going on at school that is causing so much anxiety that kids will stop going to avoid it.

One huge thing is the state of the world and our country. Another major unspoken thing is that all our children have had Covid many, many, many times by now, sometimes when we all thought it was just a cold, or maybe asymptomatic, yet still damaging internally. Covid virus crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes brain inflammation and other myriad problems with mood, anxiety, a host of physical symptoms that are easy to dismiss as caused by typical things, but it’s Covid damage to all our kids.

No. Just, no. Look at the device everyone is holding in their hands if you want the most likely answer. Quit obsessing over Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole "I have nothing going on in classes" is a complete lie. I don't know why parents accept this. The fact that they don't have a quiz or test means they are learning something new. I would much rather my student miss a testing day compared to a learning day

This skips over a hard truth - some kids learn faster and better than others. The 2nd day of a concept in math might be new to some kids and agonizingly boring to others. You can be mad that the kids who pick things up quicker skip school but the pattern continues. People at work get their stuff done and then surf the internet or walk around chatting (or do other things if working from home). That's just how life works.

There are things FCPS could do to address this but it would mean greater differentiation and accepting that not everyone should be able to take honors classes. They won't do that so things will keep going the way they are.

Yes. This is what it's like for my kids. We are a high SES family in a low SES high school. Both kids skip a TON of school. I gave up caring a few years ago. Kid #1 graduated 1st in his class and is currently at a T20 and barely went to school. His common experience was that he would show up on test day or a day when a project was due and half the class would not have their projects done so the teacher would give the entire class period so that those kids could finish, or postpone the test to another day and let the kids use the entire class period to study. Meanwhile, my kid is sitting with his thumb up his ass bored to death. Half the kids in his AP classes didn't belong there. And because FCPS does block scheduling, every wasted period is 90 agonizing minutes.

Not every kid who skips school is bound to fail. Some are ready for a higher level of challenge that is not readily available in every FCPS school. I support my kids to know how much school they need to go to in order to get the results they want from their education. So far, FCPS hasn't cared how much school they attend. Neither of my kids has ever been flagged by the school or any individual teacher for absenteeism.

These will be the same people who claim “we value education” because it sounds like the kind of thing people in their social circle should say, but their actions and attitudes reveal they actually don’t value education at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a combination of parents remembering how schools handled covid-it was hey kids teach yourself, you don't need to be in person, and the calendar. For years the schools have sent the message that regular attendance doesn't matter.

Omg covid was ONE year of school. One. Many of the kids in school now weren’t even in school when covid happened!

New to FCPS?

It was 2 full years, plus 2-3 years of recovery here.

Maybe not in your red state, but blue FCPS,was all in on covid school for years.

It was NOT one full year. March - June 2020 = 3 months. Many schools went back in for optional hybrid in February 2021- June 2021. Everyone in this entire state was back in person August 2021. Some families CHOSE to remain online but even then it was NOT in any realm two full years.

You clearly didn't have kids in school during Covid.

It was not school.

FCPS was entirely online. The kids were in the building, but only 2x week with half of the kids there. Everyone sitting spaced apart on their computers with the teachers online and no interaction allowed with the teachers who volunteered to come in person.

Even the autistic and special needs kids had to do this type of learning. The local news had extensive coverage of this. The autistic students were the first ones allowed back due to lawsuits, but the fcps version of educatiolng these non verbal and low verbal kids was to put them in a room by themselves with a laptop they couldn't operate and one aide sitting behind a screen. All of the local news covered this.

Many classes had no in person teachers, just random aides over 18 years old whose only job was to make sure students stayed separate, didn't interact, and worked alone on their computers with headphones on.

The following year was again mostly on computer, with no students allowed to fail anything, and no zeros. Even if students turned in zero assignments on their computers, the lowest score they could receive was 50% which was still a passing grade.

The current high schoolers went through middle school under this computer based "learning" with no failures allowed by FCPS and a 50% guranteed points even if you did zero percdnt of the work, and the younger teens did all their primary education like this on unmonitored computers.

Of course they quickly internalized the idea that school doesn't really matter. Fcps taught them this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the Covid impact will last until the kindergarten class in fall of 2022 graduates from high school. So, 8 or so more years. Then, we will see which changes are permanent.

Completely agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a combination of parents remembering how schools handled covid-it was hey kids teach yourself, you don't need to be in person, and the calendar. For years the schools have sent the message that regular attendance doesn't matter.

Omg covid was ONE year of school. One. Many of the kids in school now weren’t even in school when covid happened!

New to FCPS?

It was 2 full years, plus 2-3 years of recovery here.

Maybe not in your red state, but blue FCPS,was all in on covid school for years.

It was NOT one full year. March - June 2020 = 3 months. Many schools went back in for optional hybrid in February 2021- June 2021. Everyone in this entire state was back in person August 2021. Some families CHOSE to remain online but even then it was NOT in any realm two full years.

Optional hybrid started mid March.

The only kids allowed back in February were special ed students.

Check the calenders and emails.

And it wasn't school or an education.

It was still all online, just inside the building with no interaction allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole "I have nothing going on in classes" is a complete lie. I don't know why parents accept this. The fact that they don't have a quiz or test means they are learning something new. I would much rather my student miss a testing day compared to a learning day

This skips over a hard truth - some kids learn faster and better than others. The 2nd day of a concept in math might be new to some kids and agonizingly boring to others. You can be mad that the kids who pick things up quicker skip school but the pattern continues. People at work get their stuff done and then surf the internet or walk around chatting (or do other things if working from home). That's just how life works.

There are things FCPS could do to address this but it would mean greater differentiation and accepting that not everyone should be able to take honors classes. They won't do that so things will keep going the way they are.

Absolutely and if the kids who get it want to be on their device or playing a game, reading, whatever I am okay with that. But I need maybe 30 minutes to catch the other kids up. Not an entire period, so they missed an hour of class.

How about getting rid of the individual devices entirely in elementary school and go back to a class cart taken out 1 or 2 times per week for specific tasks, just like pre covid? And limiting the computers to specific at home assignments in middle school, with no in person computer use allowed excdpt for research, with books instead for math, English, history and science?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also I teach primarily 10th graders, the 11th and especially 12 graders at our school attendance is horrific.

Same. I think this is true across all income levels because I’m at a title 1 school but many here are posting about their higher SES schools. Parents do not make kids come. It’s way too comfortable for kids to stay home - think about when we were kids. If you stayed home, tv sucked, you had nobody talk to. They stay home and have streaming, tiktok, and can snap their friends all day. The students also on the whole care less about academics and about thinks like sports, for which they would need to be in school. This is true just comparing my students now to my pre Covid students: they generally are much, much less motivated or driven by almost anything, and have zero sense of school community.

Anyway, it’s bad.

We had 5 day school weeks and got out for summer vacation by Memorial Day.

Our kids have a pathetic mishmash of 3 and 4 day weeks, random half days, and are stuck in school almost until July.

Apples and oranges.

What are you talking about? I grew up in the 80s and we started school in August and ended in June. Maybe `1-2 weeks less school than they have now. You need to calm down.

NP. I grew up in another area. We started in late August and ended in May. DH says that growing up in the northeast that he started school after labor day and ended before Memorial day every yera.

Sorry, but he is definitely misremembering. I am from CT, my DH is from NY, and our family is from NJ and MA. We always started the Monday after Labor Day and went well into June. Usually around the 21st. My NJ family still has that calendar.

Most of the country starts mid August and ends by Memorial Day.

That really is the best calendar.

Going to school in June a full month after testing is completely pointless and a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a combination of parents remembering how schools handled covid-it was hey kids teach yourself, you don't need to be in person, and the calendar. For years the schools have sent the message that regular attendance doesn't matter.

Omg covid was ONE year of school. One. Many of the kids in school now weren’t even in school when covid happened!

New to FCPS?

It was 2 full years, plus 2-3 years of recovery here.

Maybe not in your red state, but blue FCPS,was all in on covid school for years.

It was NOT one full year. March - June 2020 = 3 months. Many schools went back in for optional hybrid in February 2021- June 2021. Everyone in this entire state was back in person August 2021. Some families CHOSE to remain online but even then it was NOT in any realm two full years.

You clearly didn't have kids in school during Covid.

It was not school.

FCPS was entirely online. The kids were in the building, but only 2x week with half of the kids there. Everyone sitting spaced apart on their computers with the teachers online and no interaction allowed with the teachers who volunteered to come in person.

Even the autistic and special needs kids had to do this type of learning. The local news had extensive coverage of this. The autistic students were the first ones allowed back due to lawsuits, but the fcps version of educatiolng these non verbal and low verbal kids was to put them in a room by themselves with a laptop they couldn't operate and one aide sitting behind a screen. All of the local news covered this.

Many classes had no in person teachers, just random aides over 18 years old whose only job was to make sure students stayed separate, didn't interact, and worked alone on their computers with headphones on.

The following year was again mostly on computer, with no students allowed to fail anything, and no zeros. Even if students turned in zero assignments on their computers, the lowest score they could receive was 50% which was still a passing grade.

The current high schoolers went through middle school under this computer based "learning" with no failures allowed by FCPS and a 50% guranteed points even if you did zero percdnt of the work, and the younger teens did all their primary education like this on unmonitored computers.

Of course they quickly internalized the idea that school doesn't really matter. Fcps taught them this.

It still wasn't two full years. That is hyperbolic and discredits the argument of anyone who states this.

My kids had some great teachers, even when virtual, who did an outstanding job making virtual learning meaningful and successful. There were a few duds, but the majority were excellent. It definitely helped prepare my kids for online Personal Finance, as well as online World Language in HS (plus online in college).

I had kids in ES, MS, and HS during the pandemic, and I feel all three levels had primarily great teachers, with only a couple duds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a combination of parents remembering how schools handled covid-it was hey kids teach yourself, you don't need to be in person, and the calendar. For years the schools have sent the message that regular attendance doesn't matter.

Omg covid was ONE year of school. One. Many of the kids in school now weren’t even in school when covid happened!

New to FCPS?

It was 2 full years, plus 2-3 years of recovery here.

Maybe not in your red state, but blue FCPS,was all in on covid school for years.

It was NOT one full year. March - June 2020 = 3 months. Many schools went back in for optional hybrid in February 2021- June 2021. Everyone in this entire state was back in person August 2021. Some families CHOSE to remain online but even then it was NOT in any realm two full years.

You clearly didn't have kids in school during Covid.

It was not school.

FCPS was entirely online. The kids were in the building, but only 2x week with half of the kids there. Everyone sitting spaced apart on their computers with the teachers online and no interaction allowed with the teachers who volunteered to come in person.

Even the autistic and special needs kids had to do this type of learning. The local news had extensive coverage of this. The autistic students were the first ones allowed back due to lawsuits, but the fcps version of educatiolng these non verbal and low verbal kids was to put them in a room by themselves with a laptop they couldn't operate and one aide sitting behind a screen. All of the local news covered this.

Many classes had no in person teachers, just random aides over 18 years old whose only job was to make sure students stayed separate, didn't interact, and worked alone on their computers with headphones on.

The following year was again mostly on computer, with no students allowed to fail anything, and no zeros. Even if students turned in zero assignments on their computers, the lowest score they could receive was 50% which was still a passing grade.

The current high schoolers went through middle school under this computer based "learning" with no failures allowed by FCPS and a 50% guranteed points even if you did zero percdnt of the work, and the younger teens did all their primary education like this on unmonitored computers.

Of course they quickly internalized the idea that school doesn't really matter. Fcps taught them this.

It still wasn't two full years. That is hyperbolic and discredits the argument of anyone who states this.

My kids had some great teachers, even when virtual, who did an outstanding job making virtual learning meaningful and successful. There were a few duds, but the majority were excellent. It definitely helped prepare my kids for online Personal Finance, as well as online World Language in HS (plus online in college).

I had kids in ES, MS, and HS during the pandemic, and I feel all three levels had primarily great teachers, with only a couple duds.

Seriously?? The summer course? It’s so freaking easy a rhesus monkey could do it. You don’t need to prepare for it in any way, shape or form. LOL.