Fighting a Harmful Symptom of Spring Fever: Ditching Class

Many teen-agers would agree with T. S. Eliot that April--the beginning of that long stretch of school between spring break and summer--is indeed the cruelest month.

The symptoms of spring fever can be seen on campuses everywhere as calculators and backpacks are replaced by coconut oil and beach towels.

But some students just can’t wait for that last bell to ring in June, so they participate in another, more harmful, rite of spring--ditching.

Just about anyone who has seen a California springtime can understand why many local students don’t want to spend it in a classroom. With the beach just a couple of blocks from my classroom, I sometimes fantasize about playing hooky myself.

So it’s no surprise that this is the season when truancy rates are highest. But this tradition of ditching a class--or even a whole school day--can be more harmful than many students realize.

Their grades generally plummet because they miss homework assignments and tests. Even model students often disappear sporadically from classes in spring, and see their prized grade-point averages drop as a result.

Cutting classes also hurts schools because each public campus is given a daily allowance by the state government (about $18) for each student who attends each day. This Average Daily Attendance (ADA) pays for just about everything at school, including textbooks, athletic equipment and staff salaries.

In other words, much is at stake. And here are some steps parents can take to help make sure that their son or daughter maintains attendance and grades.

First, refresh your knowledge of the school’s attendance policy. Most public schools distinguish between excused absences, unexcused absences and truancies.

Absences are generally excused for illness, medical or dental appointments, or a death in the family. These are the least harmful absences because, according to state law, students are allowed to make up any missed tests or assignments. And the school still receives its ADA money for the day.

Parentally requested absences are the purgatory of the attendance system. These consist of absence from school for reasons other than those mentioned above. They are not considered excusable but are not counted as truancies, however, because the parent knows and approves of the child’s absence. Missing school for a family vacation, for example, would be an unexcused absence.

The drawbacks to parent-request absences are that, by law, teachers don’t have to allow makeup work and the school loses its ADA for the child that day.

Truancies are unexcused absences of which the parent is unaware. Legally, any student who has more than three truancies in a school year can be considered to have a truancy problem.

Now, here are some ways to prevent unexcused absences, especially those addictive springtime ditchings.

Most important, make sure the school has your home and work phone numbers on record so you can be called immediately if your child is caught out of class.

Also, ask your child about all of his or her classes each day and observe whether he or she seems to be doing a lot less homework lately. If this direct approach still leaves you suspicious, go to a sure-fire source: the school’s attendance office.

Bear in mind that you can visit the school to check your child’s attendance records at any time. “Parents need to understand that they have a legal right to see any records that are kept on their kids in school, academic as well as attendance,” explained William Savant, an assistant principal at Santa Monica High School.

The knowledge that a parent might be checking up can have a deterrent effect. “Those youngsters whose parents are inclined to drop in unannounced at school are most likely to (attend) because they’ll never know when the parent is coming,” advised Savant.

Most schools record attendance via computer, so ask for your child’s printout and some help in deciphering the various symbols that tell why the student was absent.

Finding a truancy in that printout can hurt. You may feel betrayed, since you see your child go to school and come home every day, and you trust in what happens in between.

But even though you may not have time to walk your son or daughter from class to class, there is a way to be there in spirit by using a “daily attendance verification slip.” (The name of this slip may differ among schools, but all use a similar form.)

The student must pick up this slip before school, then carry it to every class for each teacher’s signature and any comments about the day’s behavior or academic progress. The child then brings it home to you as proof that he or she was not just “hanging out.”

Savant adds one last piece of advice: “If you (notice) any missing signatures or (a possible forgery), then call the attendance office for a check to see if that youngster was in class that day.”