Unexcused absences

[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.

For some kids it is NBD to miss a few days and they can easily make it up. 5 days is not unreasonable to miss school, imo, whether it is excused or not.

All this rigidity leads to is parents lying. When we need to pull out of school early or something, now I simply call in DC as sick. It's a non issue. But since they've forced parents' hands, this is how it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Sorry that reality, that chronic absenteeism harms your DC, is inconvenient. It's not you that pays for it. It's your DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. My son just came home and said they had a [KITCHY NAME WITH SCHOOL MASCOT] day because other kids in the same grade were on a field trip. On further inquiry, he explained that this means they just have the day to do any work that needs to be done (null set for him) and otherwise it is free time. He further explained that this is "basically what we do every Friday." (And this is AAP!) So, yes, missing even a day of school at the parent's discretion will call into question my child's future, but twiddling his thumbs for a day in his school chair is perfectly appropriate. Hard to reconcile the logic. Maybe there is some magic in that FCPS school chair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should have said it was a funeral

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

I said family commitment for one day - and I see that it is unexcused ha.
I guess I would say sick if i cared. We don’t really travel during school but I would say sick to avoid them calling me about truancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. My son just came home and said they had a [KITCHY NAME WITH SCHOOL MASCOT] day because other kids in the same grade were on a field trip. On further inquiry, he explained that this means they just have the day to do any work that needs to be done (null set for him) and otherwise it is free time. He further explained that this is "basically what we do every Friday." (And this is AAP!) So, yes, missing even a day of school at the parent's discretion will call into question my child's future, but twiddling his thumbs for a day in his school chair is perfectly appropriate. Hard to reconcile the logic. Maybe there is some magic in that FCPS school chair.

Kids exaggerate the truth all the time. Maybe it was a fun day because all the other kids in the grade went on a field trip, but it definitely does not happen every Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. My son just came home and said they had a [KITCHY NAME WITH SCHOOL MASCOT] day because other kids in the same grade were on a field trip. On further inquiry, he explained that this means they just have the day to do any work that needs to be done (null set for him) and otherwise it is free time. He further explained that this is "basically what we do every Friday." (And this is AAP!) So, yes, missing even a day of school at the parent's discretion will call into question my child's future, but twiddling his thumbs for a day in his school chair is perfectly appropriate. Hard to reconcile the logic. Maybe there is some magic in that FCPS school chair.

Kids exaggerate the truth all the time. Maybe it was a fun day because all the other kids in the grade went on a field trip, but it definitely does not happen every Friday.

I'm not sure why you need to make up a different reality than the one that is. The school actually has a name for it, and it actually is a day long study hall followed by lunch, recess, and electives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

The only people who pay attention to those lectures are people who already care about their kid's education. OP, next time you kid is absent just lie about the reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

I would love it if my child's school would reach out to me personally like that. Then I could ask why she's had rotating subs for the last two months and why the school is unable to hire a long term sub or, god forbid, a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

You can thank all the foreign families who go home work weeks at a time and whose kids fail the SOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

The only people who pay attention to those lectures are people who already care about their kid's education. OP, next time you kid is absent just lie about the reason

OP: For sure, lesson learned. A stupid policy calls for a stupid response. I do actually care about my kids' education but I don't view the concept as being confined to what FCPS teaches. I'm happy to have the schools teach my kids math, and science, but it could be done in about half the time they take to do it. The rest of it is just killing time, and I would rather have my kids spending that time outside, seeing wildlife, visiting cities, swimming in the ocean, or on the slopes. And in a reasonable world, I wouldn't have to lie about exercising this discretion with regard to kids with no academic concerns. But, I'm done shaking my fist at the sky, and will just take the practical approach.

[Anonymous]

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.

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

Does it ever get tiring being this way?

[Anonymous]

OP, your kids are the low hanging fruit. There’s a difference between the kids who miss 5-10 days over the course of a year for family trips or illness and manage to make up work and the kids who miss 30+ days with no communication from parents or attempts to do any work they’ve missed. FCPS is trying to guilt the former group because they’re more responsive and because they’re unable to move the needle with the latter group.

[Anonymous]

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.

There are so many long weekends in this calendar. As a teacher, I personally don’t care if kids travel. But parents then expect the teacher to send work and catch up kid and that is not fair to the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, your kids are the low hanging fruit. There’s a difference between the kids who miss 5-10 days over the course of a year for family trips or illness and manage to make up work and the kids who miss 30+ days with no communication from parents or attempts to do any work they’ve missed. FCPS is trying to guilt the former group because they’re more responsive and because they’re unable to move the needle with the latter group.

Or 80+ days, like one of my students who then sends emails like clockwork at the end of the quarter asking how they can possibly raise their grade before the report card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I would love it if my child's school would reach out to me personally like that. Then I could ask why she's had rotating subs for the last two months and why the school is unable to hire a long term sub or, god forbid, a teacher.

Well isn’t it obvious that they’re trying not to hire a teacher?