THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509030040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Some parents are still steamed about the school district's attendance policy more than two months after it was adopted.
They see it as a challenge to their authority to keep their kids out of school when they see fit and as an unnecessary penalty for successful students.
Under rules approved 7-3 by the School Board in June, students would fail classes for excessive absences regardless of their grades or parental permission for being out.
Key points of the regulations are:
Sixth- through 12th-graders with more than 12 absences from class in a semester will receive a failing grade.
Sixth- through 12th-graders with alternate day or block schedules and more than six absences from a class in a single semester will receive a failing grade.
Elementary pupils with more than 24 absences in one year may be denied promotion on the authority of the principal.
Exceptions can be requested through a formal waiver process added last month. Each school will have a committee to consider requests. Principals have discretion to exclude some absences during the screening process. If a request is turned down by the committee, the decision can be appealed through successive administrative levels, ultimately to the superintendent.
Still, several parents say they shouldn't have to justify their children's absences to anyone if the kids are out of school with their knowledge and approval.
``I know whether my child is legitimately out of school or not,'' said Annette M. Jenkins, a parent at Red Mill Elementary School. ``I don't think it's up to a committee to tell me if I'm right or not.''
The parents also argue that students who can pass a class despite absences should not be punished.
``A policy to strip them of their grade, because of whatever reason . . . doesn't make sense to us,'' said Larry A. Smith, who has formed Adults Concerned with Education for those who object to the attendance rules. Some members said they plan to attend Tuesday's School Board meeting to demand that the board rescind the policy.
But Kempsville High School parent Donna Berg, who was on the committee that developed the policy, said it provides consistency throughout the system and is like policies in place in individual high schools in previous years.
``It places the importance on attendance and it ultimately makes the parent responsible, as it should be,'' she said. ``As a parent, I have no problem with it.''
Interim Superintendent James L. Pughsley said he understood parents' concerns but said the policy sets standards for students that they will need after they leave school.
``This isn't limited to a grading situation. We are also preparing students to walk out in the world of work,'' Pughsley said. ``We're trying to establish good patterns.''
``I do understand what parents are saying,'' he said. But ``is it not important what takes place (in the classroom) between tests?''
A majority of the board was of a similar mind.
``Every job I've ever had, attendance played a big part in whether you did a good job or not,'' board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt said when the policy was approved.
Board member Susan L. Creamer also supported it.
``We're trying to teach our students and get them ready for the real world, for the working world,'' she said. ``We keep looking at . . . (the policy) as a penalty for our students. It's a motivation for our students.''
But board member Donald F. Bennis spoke against the plan and has continued to question it.
``I, as a parent, should be able to write a note for an absence . . . and that shouldn't have to go through the waiver process,'' he said.
The plan was put together by a committee of school staff members and parents in an effort to craft one unified policy throughout the district.
Parents who oppose the policy say they are all for good attendance. But, they say, the rules hurt kids who are involved in sports or other activities, or who may miss days because of illness, but still keep up with their work. They say the policy is a blanket attempt to correct behavior that is a problem for only a small number of students.
``I shouldn't have to go to a committee and bare my personal life,'' Smith said. ``It's nobody's business.''
Pughsley said he believed that more parents favored a uniform attendance policy than opposed it.
``Parents with a concern have a right to voice that concern, but many, many more parents support it,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
ATTENDANCE POLICY
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS by CNB