Learning Matters: Student and parent attendance is important

In the fairy tale, “Briar Rose,” better known as Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty,” a king and queen are granted their long-expressed wish for a child. According to Philip Pullman’s 2012 (Viking) version of the Brothers Grimm story, the king, unable to contain his joy, ordered a great celebration of their daughter’s birth, to which he invited royal relatives, friends and distinguished people of every kind.

But leaving one of the 13 Wise Women off the guest list because he had only 12 gold dinner plates, the king incurred her wrath and a curse on his daughter: “In her 15th year, the princess will prick her finger on a spindle and fall down dead.”

Though the last (and compassionate) Wise Woman managed to reduce the curse of death to 100 years of sleep, the king “wanting to protect his daughter,” immediately issued a command that every spindle in the land be burned.

Notwithstanding what readers and viewers of the story know about the overlooked spindle in the tower, I often think of that king’s response — his urgency and action — when I hear or read about current threats to children: academic and social stresses, depression, drug abuse, or family dysfunction.

The king tried to do all he could early in his daughter’s life to save her from the dangers foretold. But that sense of urgency often seems lacking in response to today’s dangers. Why aren’t we better at linking parents to the help their children need before the need overwhelms them? Why don’t more worried families drop everything to get help when it’s offered?

Ilin Magran, coordinator of the Glendale school district’s Healthy Start program, is asking the same questions. With responsibilities that include attendance issues among all students as well as health and counseling services for homeless youth (there are currently 36 in the district) and foster youth (39 at last count), she is very familiar with the challenges students and their parents face. She feels the urgency, and like the king in the story, she’s taking action to help children and families avoid crises.

I spoke with Magran last week as she was welcoming parents to a workshop on school attendance, one in a series co-sponsored by the Adams Square Library. I counted about a dozen parents in the audience that evening — that’s 12 out of an estimated 1,300 families from the two elementary schools within walking distance of the library.

Magran shared critical information, like the linkage between high absenteeism and the chances of dropping out. She shared the statistic from the Los Angeles County Office of Education — not specific to Glendale — that one in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students misses at least a month of school every year, making them much less likely to read proficiently by third grade.

She provided details and advice to help families understand school rules, and she did it in a manner more compelling than the packet of papers each parent or caregiver must sign at the beginning of every school year. For example:

• A student is entitled to complete all assignments and tests missed during an excused absence.

• A student who misses three full days without an excuse or is more than 30 minutes tardy on three occasions is considered truant.

Magran fielded many questions from her audience that night, and she readily responded to the calls she received in the days following, from parents concerned about their children’s grades or attendance.

“A lot of parent education needs to happen,” she told me after the meeting, and sometimes a lot of handholding. “Connecting and building relationships with students and families is a key factor.”

Upcoming workshops will focus on substance abuse, depression versus sadness, suicide prevention, and “thriving with your teen.” I hope more adults find the time to hear what she and others have to say about the issues facing youth and the services available locally.

For more information, go to the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture website, GlendaleLAC.org or contact the Healthy Start office at gusd.net.

I continue to applaud the king’s early efforts to protect Briar Rose. But as I reread the story, a few other 21st century lessons jump off the page. Parents can’t protect their children from everything; children need some independence and likely will make a few mistakes.

But one fateful detail strikes me. At the most dangerous time, “…On the day when the princess turned 15, it happened that the king and queen were away, and the girl was alone in the castle. She wandered about…wherever she wanted; and at last she came to an old tower where she’d never been before.”

Parent attendance matters, even — and especially — in the teen years.

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JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified school board. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com.