Perfect Attendance awards

[Anonymous]

I remember trying so hard to get the perfect attendance award in 3rd grade. I made my mom change a vacation. I was so proud to receive it! It was the only year that I got it, I think.

I agree that it's pretty silly to encourage this, but I don't disagree with awarding it if perfect attendance happens. Like if it's an unadvertised award that you can pull at the end for anyone who managed to be there every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I associate those awards with kids in schools with lowest performing students/low income schools. Saddest (ridiculous) "award."

I’m the PP from above. I went to an Ivy and have a PhD. I also played 3 Varsity sports in HS and was captain of each team. I won plenty of other awards, but I was actually pretty proud of that one. Very few kids besides me cared or noticed that I won it. I doubt it was encouraging others to try for perfect attendance.

I'm a different PP who -also- went to an Ivy, has a PhD, and had perfect attendance from 2nd - 11th grade. (I did do Senior Skip Day in 12th so ended my streak in 11th). And guess what? Honestly perfect attendance really doesn't matter. I was so prideful of it when I was in grade school, but in the end missing a day or two really didn't matter. I had various friends stay out sick when they were sick, miss the first week of school due to family vacation - heck one of my friends even failed her first 7th grade bio quiz because she'd missed the first 2 weeks of school for a family vacation. In the end, didn't matter, all those friends went to just as great schools as me (some even better such as MIT) and went on to have great careers. Now that I'm older and I see perfect attendance doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, I'd rather have had another happy, unique memory with my family than a handful of extra days in school.

It's nice and cute that there's an award to award students who do want to be diligent I guess, but I agree with PPs who note it's dangerous with this age of Covid.

[Anonymous]

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/guidance.htm

Guidance for School Administrators to Help Reduce the Spread of Seasonal Influenza in K-12 Schools

Review school policies, and consider revising those that make it difficult for students and staff to stay home when sick or when caring for others who are sick.
...
Avoid the use of perfect attendance awards.
...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I feel they encourage parents to send kids to school sick, and teach kids not to take care of themselves; they teach that academics is more important than literally everything else in life. On the flip side, for some kids once you miss one day, that false incentive is gone, so why bother caring about attendance?

I don't get whey such a thing ever started.

Agree. DH says he had perfect attendance all through elementary. But I also know that his parents are not very cautious when it comes to germs so if one person in the house is sick they all would get it. He has two siblings and I’m pretty sure they just went to school sick. With meds to address the symptoms since FIL is a pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:... they just went to school sick. With meds to address the symptoms since FIL is a pediatrician.

Pediatrician sending their sick kids to school? Isn't this like Firemen starts a fire or police shoplifting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children will never win this because they're Jewish and the DCPS calendar is based around Christian holidays.

My friend's child will never get this because she has a couple days of chemo every month.

It's a stupid, discriminatory award that makes kids feel bad for things they can't control.

Most awards are for things the kids can’t control. My kid with dyscalculia, dyslexia, and ADHD will never get the principals honor roll, despite working harder than his brother, who got that award easily. Awards that athletes get are often a result of athletic genes plus the luck of having the right teammates in a particular year, etc.

[Anonymous]

My kid will never get this award. In January when they have tons of O days, holidays, teacher work days, end of quarter etc we generally take a vacation. We also take 4 day ski weekends. I also do a random day each quarter to go somewhere fun just the two us. I'd rather she have fun experiences she will remember a lot longer than being at school some random day.

[Anonymous]

No, it means nothing. I have so much vacation and sick time stored up at work - it's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children will never win this because they're Jewish and the DCPS calendar is based around Christian holidays.

My friend's child will never get this because she has a couple days of chemo every month.

It's a stupid, discriminatory award that makes kids feel bad for things they can't control.

Most awards are for things the kids can’t control. My kid with dyscalculia, dyslexia, and ADHD will never get the principals honor roll, despite working harder than his brother, who got that award easily. Awards that athletes get are often a result of athletic genes plus the luck of having the right teammates in a particular year, etc.

+1 I guess no more awards or contests or sports competitions lets just scrap everything.

[Anonymous]

No one actually tries to get perfect attendance, do they? It's just that some kids are healthy and manage not to get sick all year. Pretty sure I had perfect attendance through most of high school. Unlikely for elementary schoolers though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children will never win this because they're Jewish and the DCPS calendar is based around Christian holidays.

My friend's child will never get this because she has a couple days of chemo every month.

It's a stupid, discriminatory award that makes kids feel bad for things they can't control.

I missed school for family funerals. It didn't make me feel bad, though. I realized it was dumb even as a kid. We had a reward for not missing the first 100 days of school each year, it was something like ice cream. Now missing out on that part did make many kids feel bad.

[Anonymous]

Relic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I worked at a low(ish) income school, we had a no UNEXCUSED absences attendance award. I liked that. Allows for absences due to sickness, needing an occasional day off (so long as parent called in), etc. The perfect attendance award for all absences is just stupid to me though. Especially in the age of covid...

I appreciate that more than rewarding kids for coming to school sick

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children will never win this because they're Jewish and the DCPS calendar is based around Christian holidays.

My friend's child will never get this because she has a couple days of chemo every month.

It's a stupid, discriminatory award that makes kids feel bad for things they can't control.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

My kid has been off for doctor appointments, covid quarantine days, and sick days.