Who leaked the MCPS attendance documents to the Washington Post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure there is an issue but I also know that my kids often have unexcused absences that were entered wrong that no one bothers to correct. Sometimes we do not even know till we get the report card. Or we get an email and it is a field trip or sports.

Don't make excuses.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-you-skip-47-days-of-english-class-and-still-graduate-from-high-school/2019/05/25/be3318ca-1b84-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html?utm_term=.a076946cf709

This has been going on for a LONG time. Someone had the balls to bring it to the surface.

This is how it works:

In Montgomery, educators in a string of high schools have told The Post that attendance practices are lax, vague or inconsistent. Some say they feel pressured to give makeup work, extend deadlines, excuse assignments or find other ways to help repeatedly absent students pass — and that the problem is not just a matter of seniors’ losing interest as their high school days wind down.

So yes, a kid can miss instruction but teachers are FORCED to re-teach/re-assess, which pulls the responsibility away from the kid. And how much learning can be done through "tutoring?" Do you really think that Jo Jo, who's absent 3/5 days each week, is learning? even WITH "re-teaching?"

absolutely disgusting!

Teachers are supposed to reteach and reassess anyway. If a child is missing 3 days a week consistently, do you think the biggest concern they are facing is how to make up missed instruction?

Address whatever the root cause is!

When I taught high school, I had sisters miss AM classes because it was only safe to sleep after a predatory adult male in the home had left for work. A student was responsible for watching her 5 younger siblings while the parents worked nights. Sometimes the parents were too exhausted to takeover in the morning so she had to get the little ones to school at 9 am, making her miss first block.

OK - look

I have over 25 years in this system teaching in high FARMs/high ESOL schools. I'm sure you can name them. MS-13? lol - just another part of my crew - And it high school, they can get ugly very quickly.

So we KNOW the root causes. Why do you think those teachers were anonymous when they shared their experiences?

The procedures around re-teaching/re-assessing and total BS with attendance and with grades were mandated b/c the county REFUSED to fail minority students b/c numbers were high at the challenging schools. At the wealthy schools, the county didn't want to fight lawsuits for unethical absences. So the kids were placed in IIS (formerly HHT) and they returned with doctors' notes from some highly unethical practitioners.

I'm done with excuses. I've discussed ROOT CAUSES until I was blue in the face. I'm NOT the problem, and I refuse to be the scapegoat. This is why teachers shut down. This is why instruction is uninspiring. How much longer can this go on?

I'm glad someone leaked this information! I hope more and more people stand up for what's right.

Kids aren't learning. It's a joke. As are BS. If Johnny can earn an A for being absent 40% of the time b/c a teacher was FORCED to re-teach/re-assess, the A is meaningless. why? b/c it's not ONLY about the content

It's about responsibility

and academic ENDURANCE and ethics. Do you think we're graduating kids who possess these qualities? I don't.

STOP MAKING EXCUSES!

Knowing the root cause is not the same as addressing it. What have you actually done, either personally or as part of a group to help students overcome the reasons they miss classes?

[Anonymous]

So Einstein High was the featured school that was graduating kids with all the unexcused absences? Not surprised. But let’s hear again from the same crowd that is always claiming that it’s the W schools that are toxic.

So much coddling and hidden failure in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Einstein High was the featured school that was graduating kids with all the unexcused absences? Not surprised. But let’s hear again from the same crowd that is always claiming that it’s the W schools that are toxic.

So much coddling and hidden failure in MCPS.

I don’t think you understand what toxic means.

[Anonymous]

But they are referring to 47 PERIODS, right? Not 47 days?

That said, there is a lot of "forgiveness" in the system. My kid was tardy way too many days. We received a note home that 3 tardies=an unexused absence and a certain number of unexcused absences = failure of the course. But the remedy right there in the letter home was that dd could write a letter to the counselor explaining the situation and she wouldn't fail.

Dd took this as tacit permission to continue her tardiness... (This is off topic but she actually took this on as a challenge. Her claim is that the teacher marked her late when she was in the room but not in her seat and didn't mark others late for the same issue. So I believe she went out of her way to 'test' the system by standing with some others in the room to see who would be marked tardy, knowing there were no teeth in the school policy. Turns out she was never even asked for the letter to the counselor...)

[Anonymous]

I think it’s excellent that MCPS is trying to meet kids where they are and assist with the barriers that prevent kids from getting to school. It’s great that some kids can get to school and engage in the traditional al manner but that doesn’t work for everyone.

I’m a parent of a kid who has very serious mental health issues and the number of days that he goes is far less than the number he doesnt go. So I see first hand the efforts MCPS puts in to make kids successful. Because of this he will earn a diploma and will have a chance to be successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Einstein High was the featured school that was graduating kids with all the unexcused absences? Not surprised. But let’s hear again from the same crowd that is always claiming that it’s the W schools that are toxic.

So much coddling and hidden failure in MCPS.

? That was the example HS. It goes on all over. That is the point of the article. I know personally that some parents in W schools pull out their kids all the time for things like traveling or what not and game the system to "excuse" it. Travel is not an excusable absence.

[Anonymous]

Knowing the root cause is not the same as addressing it. What have you actually done, either personally or as part of a group to help students overcome the reasons they miss classes?

So you're blaming teachers now?

This is a point I've made again and again, and you're part of the problem.

I don't owe you an explanation of steps I've taken, especially with your accusatory tone.

You're part of the problem, and you'll continue to help the system erode each and every day.

thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what I have observed as both a teacher and a parent:

When middle class and affluent students are absent often, the parents know how to work the system. We often notify the school in advance and provide excuses or documentation that satisfy the attendance secretary. This allows our children to be marked excused absent and make up missed work. Even when the absence is clearly not considered excused under MCPS’ own rules, a way is found to kosher it. Our children are excused for family vacations, grandparents’ anniversaries, and attending siblings’ graduations. Mine was excused this year to interview for a summer experience. If our children are struggling with social emotional issues that lead them to be late to school or not go at all on a particular day, we use terms like “school refusal” that present nonattendance as a health issue rather than a behavioral problem. Recently, when DH has a serious health setback, my child’s counselor suggested taking a day off for DD to process.

In my experience, low income families often do not know how to use (or outright manipulate) the system this way. Students return from short illnesses (1-4 days) without the parent note that excuses the days missed. Students do not bring a doctor’s note for longer illnesses (5+ days), even though they may sport a hospital wristband. For students with chronic conditions like asthma, a lot of days may be racked up that should be excused, but just lack the paperwork. Families of low income students, particularly immigrants of color, may not realize that schools do bend rules to excuse absences for trips abroad, graduations, etc. They just know that their child still needs to accompany the family and they hope the teacher will excuse the missed work. They certainly don’t seem to know the magical phrase “school refusal” when their child won’t leave home in the morning. So they get sent scary letters about attendance while the parents of a middle class student with the same or more days absent is not.

I don’t know how to fix this. I do my part throwing starfish back into the ocean by contacting families to beg for notes or bringing up “school refusal” when we have our team meetings and someone uses skipping to characterize certain students’ absences and not those of others. I urge my colleagues to be aware of how our school and their own practices might be inequitable when it comes to dealing with absences that are technically inexcusable. If Larla can be excused for a five day trip to Israel for a cousin’s wedding under the excuse of religious observance, why can’t we do the same for Larla to miss one day for her godmother’s funeral?

All very true, PP.

My child has special needs and sometimes missed school, and there are times I forget or can’t be bothered to notify the school attendance officer. His grades have never suffered because his teachers know he’s a serious student who will make up all work.

However, there does seem to be something extra going on at certain low income high schools. It’s not hard to realize that some students skip school and get a diploma they didn’t study correctly for. To me this says that there should be more school counselors in these schools to provide psychological and emotional support for at risk students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s excellent that MCPS is trying to meet kids where they are and assist with the barriers that prevent kids from getting to school. It’s great that some kids can get to school and engage in the traditional al manner but that doesn’t work for everyone.

I’m a parent of a kid who has very serious mental health issues and the number of days that he goes is far less than the number he doesnt go. So I see first hand the efforts MCPS puts in to make kids successful. Because of this he will earn a diploma and will have a chance to be successful.

I’m glad to hear that. I hope things get better for your son. Not having attendance be a barrier is probably key to that.

Our traditional model of school doesn’t work for most kids. It actually has never worked for all, but it definitely only fits a minority of students, leaving most underserved or extremely badly served. I get why people home school. However, too many of those who do probably shouldn’t and at least some of them only do so because we don’t offer a viable alternative. Then, we punish kids for responding to being trapped in a system that isn’t meeting their needs, but they are “stupid” or “bad” for not pretending sand is sugar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Knowing the root cause is not the same as addressing it. What have you actually done, either personally or as part of a group to help students overcome the reasons they miss classes?

So you're blaming teachers now?

This is a point I've made again and again, and you're part of the problem.

I don't owe you an explanation of steps I've taken, especially with your accusatory tone.

You're part of the problem, and you'll continue to help the system erode each and every day.

thanks

This work is part of our job. Each and every day. You don’t do this important part of your job and you resent being called out for it.

[Anonymous]

What if you were a doctor with a patient whose diabetes and HBP was getting worse because he was gaining weight? If he he said he was gaining weight because he was stress eating and that he was recently divorced and had never learned to cook so he ate fast food three times a day. Wouldn’t you want to help him address those reasons? You could refer him to a therapist for the stress. You could enroll him in a nutrition program at the hospital. Or would you just be satisfied knowing why he was gaining weight because then you could say it was not your fault?

[Anonymous]

Just want to note here that teachers cannot be everything to all students: gang-buster, parole officer, psychologist, therapist, priest, doctor and parent.

I’m a parent. I cannot blame teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note here that teachers cannot be everything to all students: gang-buster, parole officer, psychologist, therapist, priest, doctor and parent.

I’m a parent. I cannot blame teachers.

We can’t be everything, but we can, should, and must work with the resources we have to help students. Too many teachers aren’t using the tools and services we have been given. I have colleagues who do use the Language Line that provides a translator if you have to call home to speak to a parent who isn’t fluent in English. Leaving six messages in English does not beat making one phone call in Spanish or Amharic or Creole. I have colleagues who hold quizzes on the day they know Linkages to Learning meetings are held. As a result, the child invited to the meeting must choose between attending this support or having to make up the quiz at the teacher’s convenience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note here that teachers cannot be everything to all students: gang-buster, parole officer, psychologist, therapist, priest, doctor and parent.

I’m a parent. I cannot blame teachers.

We can’t be everything, but we can, should, and must work with the resources we have to help students. Too many teachers aren’t using the tools and services we have been given. I have colleagues who do not use the Language Line that provides a translator if you have to call home to speak to a parent who isn’t fluent in English. Leaving six messages in English does not beat making one phone call in Spanish or Amharic or Creole. I have colleagues who hold quizzes on the day they know Linkages to Learning meetings are held. As a result, the child invited to the meeting must choose between attending this support or having to make up the quiz at the teacher’s convenience.

[Anonymous]

Not MCPS but parents know that nothing will happen if their kid has uneducated absences. I’ve had a student who has missed the equivalent of one school year in the last three years. Nothing has happened. Apparently there are worse cases so get in line. Not surprisingly, this student is below grade level. This is the typical line I get at parent conferences- “Larla doesn’t like to go to school.” Oh yeah? Well it is your job as a parent to send her whether she likes it or not. I would rather stay home and play on my tablet all day too. Most of my conferences end up as us giving out parenting advice.