CLEARFIELD – Student attendance has raised concerns among members of the faculty group who would like the Clearfield school board to possibly consider revising the policy, believing it may be necessary in order to target improvement on state assessment exams.
According to teacher Pat Pallo, the faulty group assembled because of the high school’s performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams and its inability to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The team has researched the factors affecting the PSSA scores and wants to address the arisen problem areas.
“This has given us the opportunity to take a hard look at policies, procedures and cultures that are affecting student performance,” he said. Because the high school hasn’t met AYP standards in recent years, teacher Tiffany Warlow said it’s currently categorized in Corrective Action I by the state’s Department of Education.
If the high school continues to miss the AYP standards, she said the “next step” is Corrective Action II, which would result in the state “taking over the district.” In this scenario, the state would dissolve the school board, and it’d mean job losses for the administration and faculty.
“Also included are cuts in programs, such as athletics and the related arts, which would be detrimental to our students,” she said. “We’re trying to avoid Corrective Action II. The school improvement team is asking for your help in trying to tackle these concerns.”
According to teacher Judi Bookhamer, the high school currently has 216 students in its senior class. Of those, 38 percent, or 83 students, missed 15 or more days of school as juniors. In addition, 75 percent didn’t achieve proficiency in one or more PSSA testing areas (reading, writing, math or science).
“If they’re not in school, we can’t teach them,” Bookhamer said.
Looking to the future, teacher Tangi Borden said there are currently 230 students in the junior class who will take the PSSA exam this year. Of those, 46 students have already missed 15 or more days of school. Further, 35 percent of those are currently failing two or more classes.
Teacher Emily Hulburt again pointed out that three out of four of the senior students, or 75 percent, missed 15 or more days in 2009-10. “These statistics are astonishing and becoming a greater concern day-by-day,” she said.
Hulburt said the faculty group wants to revisit and revise the district’s current attendance policy with the school board. She said it would address “a major concern” that could position them to meet AYP standards in upcoming years.
Under the current policy, parents receive a letter outlining the district’s attendance procedure, when their child reaches the sixth day of cumulative absence. Any time a student reaches a 10th cumulative absence, a certified letter is sent to the parents, indicating the student must furnish a doctor’s excuse for any subsequent absence.
The policy states that any absence(s) not covered by a doctor’s note will be charged as an unlawful or unexcused (if over 17) and will be used when filing a citation with the magistrate. An administrative hearing can be requested to appeal the action within 10 school days upon receipt of the letter.
Board member Larry Putt asked the faculty team and high school Principal Kevin Wallace why students were missing school. Wallace believed it could be correlated with the culture and attitude of the local community.
“I’m not saying there aren’t good parents out there, but we need to get them to understand the importance of their kids being in school,” he said.
“The PSSA tests are going to be replaced by the Keystone exams. It’s going to be imperative that these kids pass the assessment. We need to get the parents on board.”
Teacher Dan Kennedy said the current policy doesn’t have any motivation for parents to ensure their children attend school. The faculty group provided the revised policy at the Windber Area School District and believed something similar may work.
According to the WASD policy, students are not to receive credit for any semester course if absences from that course total more than 10 periods per semester. Also, students are not to receive credit for any full-year courses or programs if absences total more than 20 periods/days for the year.
At Windber, high school students are not to receive credit toward graduation for any class(es) from which a student is illegally absent from class (confirmed truancy or class cut) more than three times during a full-year course. Insufficient credits in any school year could result in a student being denied promotion to the next grade level, building and or graduation, the policy states.
Pallo said the faculty group plans for ongoing dialogue with the school board and community. Board President Dave Glass suggested that some board members meet with the high school improvement team as part of discussions for moving forward.