Reply to Interim OSSE Report on Student Absenteeism

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Reply to "Interim OSSE Report on Student Absenteeism"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a friend who teaches at Ballou and she says that often 5 students show up to class out of 20. Sometimes only 1-2 show up. Truancy is especially bad in August and June and any type of adverse weather days. This is not your typical UMC family situation of taking a couple extra days for a ski trip.
Also, since the Rhee days, everything is considered the teacher’s fault. So if kids aren’t showing up to class, the teacher gets blamed for not making the class so compelling that students don’t want to miss it. Lot of pressure on teachers to be performers, etc.[/quote]

I taught at Ballou, and you're friend is absolutely correct. A good number won't show up until after Labor Day. The weeks before and after a holiday break are usually sparse too. It's a ghost town after PARCC is administered. A lot of them come back during the last week of school looking for make up packets. At one point we were told that even if they hadn't come to school it was still our responsibility to mail the packets home with explanations of how many assignments they needed to do in order to pass. 
[/quote]

So maybe school should start after labor day and we should have fewer three day weekends /random Fridays off.[/quote]

doesn't really matter since the Chancellor is not spouting off about how DC will have the nation's LARGEST credit recovery program. Great, send the message that getting it right the first time isn't important. Send the message that it doesn't matter how much you screw up or how lacking in responsibility you've been as a student approaching adulthood, we'll make sure we give you as many chances as it takes. Don't worry....we'll spoon feed you, wittle baby. it's fine to have credit recovery but to suddenly promote how you're going to make your district's program the largest in the country is just a very strange goal in my opinion. [/quote]

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