Richard Montgomery High School teacher complains about chronic absenteeism

[Anonymous]

SOURCE: https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/attendance-is-the-no-1-issue-facing-schools-how-dmv-schools-are-tackling-absenteeism/3992555/

It's the kind of change teacher Andrea Lyons has been begging for in her Montgomery County, Maryland, high school.

“Attendance is the No. 1 thing we need to fix in order for education to go forward,” Lyons said. “If we can't get students in the door, we can’t do anything.”

The I-Team met with Lyons over the summer, where she told News4 how bad the tardiness and attendance problem had become.

“I teach five sections, and I have approximately 32 students in each section. And when the bell rings to start first period, I routinely have four to six students on time for first period,” she said.

What’s more, so many students miss so much class, her school sets aside a few days each quarter so students can complete late assignments.

“We spend a lot of time planning these engaging lessons that can't be done because you don't know who's going to show up every day. In addition, we have to stop our teaching and kind of freeze to let students make up work,” she said.

Montgomery County students who accrue 10 consecutive days of unexcused absences risk being withdrawn from school, according to MCPS policies reviewed by the I-Team. Lyons doesn’t want to see that happen, but said she believes the same policy lacks teeth because attendance doesn’t directly factor into a student’s grade.

Lyons said she’s worried too many students no longer see the value in being there.

“Students want to know: What assignments do I have to do and when do I get them to you and how do I get the points?’” she said.

Still, she said her school has made some changes this year she hopes will encourage more students to be in class and on time, like bringing back final exams in some subjects and putting a hard deadline on late assignments.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Montgomery County Public Schools said it is working to reduce chronic absenteeism with an “attendance action plan” that it’s been implementing for several years.

“Using data-driven strategies, every school has set measurable goals, monitored attendance closely, and provided targeted support for students. Systemwide messaging has raised awareness, and teams of school staff have worked with families to remove barriers to attendance,” the statement read.

For some reason, they name Woodbridge High School but they don't name Andrea Lyons' high school. But if you search her name, you see that she's a social studies teacher at Richard Montgomery High School.

[Anonymous]

First period? Of course! High school starts way too early for teen brains. Science has already told us that teens experience a change in their circadian rhythms during adolescence that makes them fall asleep and wake up later than at other periods of their lives.

It was torture for my sleep-apnea suffering son to wake up on time. It's his worse memory of high school. He finally got an accommodation to skip first period in 12th grade.

My 15 year old DD gets to school on time, but reports that they're all super sleepy in first period. So teachers can have butts in seats, but no one's paying much attention at that time in the morning anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First period? Of course! High school starts way too early for teen brains. Science has already told us that teens experience a change in their circadian rhythms during adolescence that makes them fall asleep and wake up later than at other periods of their lives.

It was torture for my sleep-apnea suffering son to wake up on time. It's his worse memory of high school. He finally got an accommodation to skip first period in 12th grade.

My 15 year old DD gets to school on time, but reports that they're all super sleepy in first period. So teachers can have butts in seats, but no one's paying much attention at that time in the morning anyway.

This is silly. There is no excuse for regularly being late and kids should fail the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First period? Of course! High school starts way too early for teen brains. Science has already told us that teens experience a change in their circadian rhythms during adolescence that makes them fall asleep and wake up later than at other periods of their lives.

It was torture for my sleep-apnea suffering son to wake up on time. It's his worse memory of high school. He finally got an accommodation to skip first period in 12th grade.

My 15 year old DD gets to school on time, but reports that they're all super sleepy in first period. So teachers can have butts in seats, but no one's paying much attention at that time in the morning anyway.

I don’t think Ms. Lyons would be going to the news about it if the chronic absenteeism was only relegated to her first period. I also don’t think the school would be holding makeup days for the overwhelming number of students who are behind.

[Anonymous]

If students don't show up admin and consulting teachers will write negative reviews about the teachers which push them toward losing their jobs. There's nothing we can do about this one. Mcea has no motivation to help new teachers.

[Anonymous]

This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Yes it is. Stop being racist.

[Anonymous]

Poor is economic not a race you race baiting dbag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Sooooo my kid goes to Churchill and it's true that kids are pretty on the ball and the classroom culture is pretty conducive to learning. Part of that is that the principal and most teachers actually enforce things like the cell phone policy and wearing lanyards.

But on the rare occasion that I am dropping my kid off at 7:44 or 7:45, there are still a lot of kids in the drop off line. I think 1st period it's pretty typical to have kids roll in 5-10 minutes late. Not good. But it happens.

Part of it is that Churchill has kids with means, for the most part, so they have their own cars or friends with cars or parents who have the time and/or flexibility to get them to school on time. They don't (generally) have to care for siblings or work PT jobs that make them exhausted in the way that physical labor does. So yeah. It's definitely an equity issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Yes it is. Stop being racist.

Unmotivated is a nasty thing to say here. There are differences. But they are systemic and not related to intrinsic motivation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Sooooo my kid goes to Churchill and it's true that kids are pretty on the ball and the classroom culture is pretty conducive to learning. Part of that is that the principal and most teachers actually enforce things like the cell phone policy and wearing lanyards.

But on the rare occasion that I am dropping my kid off at 7:44 or 7:45, there are still a lot of kids in the drop off line. I think 1st period it's pretty typical to have kids roll in 5-10 minutes late. Not good. But it happens.

Part of it is that Churchill has kids with means, for the most part, so they have their own cars or friends with cars or parents who have the time and/or flexibility to get them to school on time. They don't (generally) have to care for siblings or work PT jobs that make them exhausted in the way that physical labor does. So yeah. It's definitely an equity issue.

Was just coming to post this. Having parents with the flexibility to drop off kids and/or means (we've had to Uber our kid a few times) is definitely a piece of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Sooooo my kid goes to Churchill and it's true that kids are pretty on the ball and the classroom culture is pretty conducive to learning. Part of that is that the principal and most teachers actually enforce things like the cell phone policy and wearing lanyards.

But on the rare occasion that I am dropping my kid off at 7:44 or 7:45, there are still a lot of kids in the drop off line. I think 1st period it's pretty typical to have kids roll in 5-10 minutes late. Not good. But it happens.

Part of it is that Churchill has kids with means, for the most part, so they have their own cars or friends with cars or parents who have the time and/or flexibility to get them to school on time. They don't (generally) have to care for siblings or work PT jobs that make them exhausted in the way that physical labor does. So yeah. It's definitely an equity issue.

The bigger point is if admin tolerate it. We are at two high schools. One has very relaxed rules, the other very strict. Both lower income schools. The kids know the expectations and there are adults monitoring and enforcing the rules. You cannot be late without a note from a parent. Other school doesn’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you have unmotivated students from poor families. You think this is happening at Whitman or Churchill?

Sooooo my kid goes to Churchill and it's true that kids are pretty on the ball and the classroom culture is pretty conducive to learning. Part of that is that the principal and most teachers actually enforce things like the cell phone policy and wearing lanyards.

But on the rare occasion that I am dropping my kid off at 7:44 or 7:45, there are still a lot of kids in the drop off line. I think 1st period it's pretty typical to have kids roll in 5-10 minutes late. Not good. But it happens.

Part of it is that Churchill has kids with means, for the most part, so they have their own cars or friends with cars or parents who have the time and/or flexibility to get them to school on time. They don't (generally) have to care for siblings or work PT jobs that make them exhausted in the way that physical labor does. So yeah. It's definitely an equity issue.

Was just coming to post this. Having parents with the flexibility to drop off kids and/or means (we've had to Uber our kid a few times) is definitely a piece of this.

In our home, you will not be late or there are consequences. No ubers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor is economic not a race you race baiting dbag.

Wrong. Poverty falls along race lines in USA.

Also, some groups of people, even if they are poor, are highly educated and can teach their children. The level of maternal education determines how high performing academically their children will be.

[Anonymous]

Part of the problem is that we closed schools for 1.25 school years, and then we were much more lax about tardiness and attendance when we reopened because it was such a big adjustment for kids and we were worried about the social-emotional impact of the closure, and now it’s hard to enforce policies on kids who aren’t used to facing real consequences. This year’s seniors only had 3/4 of a school year in middle school before the Covid closure. The rest of the students were in elementary school or even younger. They haven’t known strict policies or strict enforcement. It’s good that we’re moving in that direction, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride for a while.