Board of Education testimony

Good morning. My name is Brian Stelter. I am a senior at Damascus High School and the secretary for the Montgomery County Region of the Maryland Association of Student Councils. I come before you today to address the final major issue I believe will impact students in the proposed Grading & Reporting policy: Attendance.

In January, I told you how I believed a 30% weight of exams would harm student achievement. I would prefer a 25% weight, with a new requirement dictating that students must take the exam in order to receive credit for the course. In February, I told you about the new progress reports at Damascus High School, and how effective they are in making students aware of their grades. I hope the new grading regulation requires these updates at all schools, in all classes. So today, my topic is attendance.

Goodbye Loss of Credit – but hello to an uglier sibling? I believe that a minimum attendance requirement would not “fix” the mistakes of the Loss of Credit policy. With this in mind, I researched what other counties have in place. You will find several interesting excerpts attached.

Howard County, for example, lists “Attendance Motivation Suggestions” in their Attendance Policy. But the effort can not stop there. The fundamental reasons for why students choose not to attend class are worth exploring, as well. Why do students wake up and wince at the sight of the school bus? Perhaps because there is nothing at school for them to look forward to. This fact provides support for innovative programs, such as smaller learning communities, mentor programs, and most importantly, a wide variety of engaging and rigorous classes. Looking over his Course Bulletin last night, my brother expressed disappointment at the lack of opportunities and a drought of “fun classes” to look forward to.

Fun may be the wrong word. But interesting, engaging, intriguing – this is why students attend school, or don’t. I know what classes I can’t afford to miss, and I know which ones I can. The answer, then, to improving attendance isn’t an LC policy. It isn’t a minimum attendance requirement. It’s engaging classes taught by inspiring teachers, every day of the week.

Whatever attendance regulation you decide to enact, consider the structure Frederick County Public Schools have in place. In the county to our north, students who have lost credit due to absences may earn the days back by attending a certain number of consecutive days of school, or by attending Saturday sessions. Broad attendance expectations should be dictated from the Board, but a process of appeals must be in place. Fundamentally, attendance issues are between the student and teacher, so a dialogue between the two parties is essential if an attendance issue arises. This should be the focus of an attendance policy/regulation – not automatic punishments for a lack of seat time.

A minimum attendance requirement will hurt students even more so than the Loss of Credit policy, especially if excused absences are counted in the number of total absences. What happens to students who are absent more than the minimum number of days—do they stop attending? The LC policy does not “fix” students who are constantly absent. Neither will a minimum attendance requirement – the end penalty, loss of credit, is the same. If a minimum attendance requirement is enacted, I will be thankful I will graduate before it begins to adversely affect students.

I thank you for your attention and look forward to the final adoption of the revised policy on March 24th.