CANOGA PARK : School Attendance Rule to Continue

Under a new policy at Canoga Park High School, seniors who miss more than 15 days of school per semester will not be allowed to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas at graduation. “I’m tired of excuses for not being in school,” said Principal Larry Higgins to an attentive audience in the school’s auditorium. “Our ancestors had babies on the plains with no anesthetic, and you can’t get to school.”

The program was started on a trial basis last spring, Higgins said, when 12 students who had been absent too many times were kept from walking across the stage.

From now on, he said, the new absentee policy will be in effect all year.

Dick Browning, director of the senior high schools division of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said only a few high schools have implemented the policy.

“Some schools determined attendance was down because seniors were getting too slick,” he said. “This approach has had the effect of increasing attendance.”

According to Browning, Canoga Park’s attendance rate last year was nearly 86%, or slightly higher than the 83% average for the district. Higgins told students that he hopes to raise the rate to 90% this year.

“The risk is too high today,” he told students. “If you think coming to school is tough, try being homeless.” One senior, Jessica Sullivan, 17, said the restrictions would make her very careful.

“It matters to every senior to walk across the stage,” Jessica said. “I love ‘Days of Our Lives,’ but I’ll be here every day.”

Steve Valentich, 17, agreed that graduating with the class was a strong motivator.

“I don’t like rules,” Steve said. “But I’ll make it.”