Unexcused absences

[Anonymous]

I've got kids in elementary, middle, and high school at FCPS. (FWIW, they are all doing fine academically.) We pulled them out of school last month for five days for a trip. I left an honest message on each of the attendance lines. For two of the kids, they had not previously missed a day of school (for illness or otherwise) this year. I didn't hear from the high school or middle school but the elementary school sent me a fairly personal (clearly not automated) admonishing email directing me to fill out a form, and explaining that I will be assigned a counselor if the number of unexcused absences gets to five. l was annoyed but ignored the email, and didn't complete the form. Yesterday, the office again sent me a personal three-paragraph email from a "member of the XX ES attendance committee" again giving us an attendance lecture, explaining that the school is "being tasked this year by the Virginia Department of Education to make an attendance plan for any student who has 5 or more unexcused absences" but that they've decided to let me go with a warning this time, but I am on notice that my double secret probation will be elevated to a meeting to discuss attendance if there are further infractions.

Is this something that VA DOE is telling schools to do, or is my ES just over-achieving in pointless ways?

[Anonymous]

This should not be an issue as advance notice for travel can be marked as an excused absence for future days off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This should not be an issue as advance notice for travel can be marked as an excused absence for future days off.

I think this only works for medical, religious observance, or family emergency. It doesn't work for a family trip, no matter how enriching.

[Anonymous]

This only encourages people to lie.

If you had said they were sick they would have been marked excused.

[Anonymous]

From what I heard parents were told that schools with more than 10% of kids on track to be considered chronically absent were being required to implement measures like these. I've heard of at least one school springing a surprise lecture about attendance on parents who thought they were there for a chance to see their kids' classrooms in action.

[Anonymous]

I hear FCPS is really cracking down on attendance this year across the board.

People are just lying now when they’re taking trips.

[Anonymous]

Should have said it was a funeral

[Anonymous]

Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem post-pandemic. Including the OP, who thinks it is NBD.

School districts in Virginia and around the country are trying to deal with it. This is a good thing. Even for UMC kids, missing a week of school is hard and can lead to lasting problems.

[Anonymous]

The kids were/will be off for 17 days at winter break, 11 days at spring break, and 9 or 10 weeks in the summer. How are you not able to schedule a trip during those times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem post-pandemic. Including the OP, who thinks it is NBD.

School districts in Virginia and around the country are trying to deal with it. This is a good thing. Even for UMC kids, missing a week of school is hard and can lead to lasting problems.

This is OP, and guilty as charged. The school year is longer than it needs to be, filled with a bunch of busy work, and a last month where they run out the clock. If the school year allowed for reasonable breaks long enough to take trips, we would use those instead of pulling the kids out of school. There is a big difference between a kid skipping a bunch of school enabled by parental ignorance or indifference, and a kid travelling with his family and keeping up on his work while he's out.

[Anonymous]

The letters/meetings/etc are being required by VDOE. Let it roll off. If your kids are doing fine and this is a one-time thing, it’s not a big deal. If they’re not doing fine, don’t take vacations during school.

We have parents pulling struggling kids out of school for family trips multiple times a year.

Then there are the families who have seemingly endless grandmas in another country, who approach death’s door every January like clockwork requiring a 3-week extension of winter break. They ask for packets of work for each child for the entire time, which their children will complete none of.

If that’s not you, don’t worry about it.

[Anonymous]

Not OP here, responding to both:

Anonymous wrote:Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem post-pandemic. Including the OP, who thinks it is NBD....

and...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem post-pandemic. Including the OP, who thinks it is NBD.

School districts in Virginia and around the country are trying to deal with it. This is a good thing. Even for UMC kids, missing a week of school is hard and can lead to lasting problems.

This is OP, and guilty as charged. The school year is longer than it needs to be, filled with a bunch of busy work, and a last month where they run out the clock. If the school year allowed for reasonable breaks long enough to take trips, we would use those instead of pulling the kids out of school. There is a big difference between a kid skipping a bunch of school enabled by parental ignorance or indifference, and a kid travelling with his family and keeping up on his work while he's out.

I used to be cowed by all those lectures about chronic absenteeism. Then I saw exactly what OP saw, as did all the other UMC parents. Plus we saw how the schools have no problem interrupting student education when it's convenient for them (the lack of 5 day weeks in the calendar), or treating education like it's optional in other ways. It's really annoying to be lectured by people who don't themselves work their hardest to ensure our kids' time is well used when they are in school or that they have a consistent academic schedule.

[Anonymous]

you will need to go to court after 10 unexcused absence, they start sending letter at the 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chronic absenteeism is a huge problem post-pandemic. Including the OP, who thinks it is NBD.

School districts in Virginia and around the country are trying to deal with it. This is a good thing. Even for UMC kids, missing a week of school is hard and can lead to lasting problems.

Guess they should have thought of that when they closed schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should have said it was a funeral

can't. I just can't lie like that.