MCPS Announces New Attendance Plan and Policy on 8/22

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that HS kids used to have to have fewer than X absences to pass a class. Even if they had the grades and turned everything in, if they missed more than X classes unexcused, they failed that class. Post Covid they got rid of that and now kids can rarely show up, do a few D assignments and pass. There is no incentive to attend.

I also have to say that too many teachers use class time as work time- kids on their Chromebooks completely worksheets and assignments. So some kids are just like I can do this from home…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my DD's elementary school they sent a survey recently about what the school can do to get the kids to attend more (My DD goes to a Title 1 school with a high mobility rate. I know a few kids in her class were gone for long periods of time). Did other schools get this?

Why are kids gone for long periods of time? Is it illness or lack of transportation?

At the school where I work, many parents will pull their kids out for 3-4 weeks to go visit their home country when plane tickets are more affordable and they don’t seem to understand the negative impact of missing so much school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even compared to pre-pandemic, absenteeism numbers are way up:

Will they break down the absenteeism numbers by race?

Or by school. I bet there's a pocket of consistent, serious offenders that need to be prioritized and dealt with most urgently.

And some of the absenteeism numbers have to do with failed admin leadership in those schools.

I doubt they will. Because it will mostly be a certain demographic in certain pockets, and the optics are not good.

Found the numbers:
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/XXXX/2022

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that HS kids used to have to have fewer than X absences to pass a class. Even if they had the grades and turned everything in, if they missed more than X classes unexcused, they failed that class. Post Covid they got rid of that and now kids can rarely show up, do a few D assignments and pass. There is no incentive to attend.

I also have to say that too many teachers use class time as work time- kids on their Chromebooks completely worksheets and assignments. So some kids are just like I can do this from home…

I agree with this. But this is also linked to MCPS making homework a bad thing. Now homework can only be 10% of the kids' grades and it can't be graded for accuracy. Just completion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they want better attendance, how about keep kids safe from viral infections like COVID? Especially mine who is medically vulnerable

Kids get sick. It’s normal. And you certainly should have understood and expected that long before you had kids.

Maybe you can find bubble boy's special suit.

**&&****$$ off. You are clearly someone who has never spent 2 weeks in a PICU. If we have more mitigations in place, than your kid won't get sick as much either, but you are probably the type of parent who needs "ME TIME" to create reels and send your kids to school so the staff can deal with it and you can outsource your parenting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they want better attendance, how about keep kids safe from viral infections like COVID? Especially mine who is medically vulnerable

What are you hoping they do for this OP? If they close again or require masks again there will be riots. Not happening.

Closing school is not the same as wearing masks. Let's not conflate the two. Masks during surges and upticks, at the beginning of the school year and after holidays is reasonable. If there are riots over masks, then let those parents duke it out with each other.

Improving air quality would help tremendously---there are monitors, but what are they going to do?

[Anonymous]

Is the live stream working now? For anyone?

[Anonymous]

and let's be clear, it's entitled White women who are "rioting". They may as well be new recruits for MOms 4 Liberty

[Anonymous]

Silvestre is a tool and it;s so unfortunate that she is the BOE president.

[Anonymous]

Part of the problem is that the curriculum is so prescriptive; there's no room for deviation, even when it could be educationally positive.

For example, our ES kid has a strong interest in a topic that is not currently a subject of study at school.

One day last year, we were taking a walk after school and talking about this topic. (He was trying to figure out how to find a group of people IRL--not online--who are into the same thing.) I said: "To start with, are any of your friends at school interested in this?"

Kid's response: "We never have time to talk about that kind of stuff in school. They might not even know that I really like it."

And thinking about the schedule of the day, it's probably true.

The interest is something that could be a lens for an almost infinite number of school subjects. But we can't afford to send him to private school, where that kind of thing might be done. And he finds ways to engage outside of school, so: it is what it is.

But that conversation gave me a really visceral sense of how regimented the school experience is, and why older kids would vote with their feet so often.

I would too, under the conditions as I understand them.

[Anonymous]

So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

Not a conclusion you can make from the data you've given. What are the demographics of all school-aged kids in MoCo?