by Ben Kleppinger

When Jessamine County Board of Education members voted in favor of a policy that would lower the number of parent excuses allowed each year from eight to six, it caused a stir with many in the community who were concerned that “good parents” might be punished by an overly strict system.

School officials say the response to the proposed change is not unexpected. But they hope that by continuing a conversation with the public, they can explain not only how the new policy can help improve educational outcomes for Jessamine County students, but also how communication with parents will prevent the policy from creating any extra problems.

“The parents that are trying to do the right thing are never going to be punished,” Superintendent Kathy Fields said. “… We’re not doing this to make it more difficult; we’re doing this as a win-win for everybody.”

Fields said the proposed policy, which is expected to come before the board for a second reading on July 27, has some of its roots in a community survey that revealed what skills local employers want new graduates to have.

“They unequivocally said, ‘send us students that are prepared to work.’ … They meant soft skills. By and large, they said, ‘send us students who will come to work,’” she said. “… We know that if we don’t expect good attendance in Jessamine County Schools, we are not going to produce employees who come to work — we know that.”

But attendance is one metric that Jessamine County has been demonstrably worse at than the state of Kentucky as a whole.

The school district has ranked in the bottom quarter of Kentucky schools for average daily attendance (ADA) since at least the 2009-10 school year, according to state data provided by the school district. State ADA rankings for the most recent school year are not yet available.

“We have one of the worst attendance rates in the state and we’re really determined to improve that,” said Patrice Jones, district director of community and public relations. “… That’s a historic issue for us, really. That’s not a recent thing.”

Jones said the district did not plan for the reduction in parent notes without considering parents’ needs.

“It’s certainly not an issue that we take lightly because we know it’s a concern for parents,” she said.

At one Jessamine County school — West Jessamine Middle School — the six-note maximum has already been in place for years. Improved attendance data from West Middle as compared to other schools is one reason district officials cited for wanting to implement the six-note maximum district-wide.

“The only schools higher than us in attendance are the elementaries and even then, I’m knocking on the door of some of the elementaries,” said West Middle Principal Jim Freeman. “If you look at just the secondary schools, we have the highest attendance of any of the secondary schools in the district — and that’s been historical.”

For the 2014-15 school year, West Middle had an average daily attendance rate of 92.49 percent, according to school district data. East Middle had a rate of 90.35 percent; West High was at 88.89 percent; East High was at 86.84 percent; and The Providence School was at 82.4 percent.

The district as a whole had an average daily attendance of 91.27 percent, making West Middle the only secondary school to exceed the district average, according to the district data.

“I haven’t gotten any guff from anybody about the policy,” said Freeman, who said the six-note maximum was in place before he began as principal six years ago. “I’ve not had anybody that’s really complained about the policy but I’ve never had anybody come in and say, ‘hey, that’s the greatest thing since sliced bread,’ either.”

Freeman said his school’s policy helps get students who are missing school on the radar faster. In many cases, that allows the school to get in contact with families, find out what issues they may be having and provide help.

“It’s a tool to help us know our kids and our families better so that we can better service them. If they’re not here in school, they’re missing instruction,” Freeman said. “I really think that our policy does help us to identify so we can get services out there to families who need it.”

Freeman said his staff members make a concerted effort to find out why students are missing school and get in contact with parents. He also emphasizes to parents the value of the “Infinite Campus” online portal, which allows them to check on their children’s grades and attendance records.

There are “a very small number of students who are missing just to be missing” and West Middle’s attendance policy does help the school address those cases, Freeman said.

But more often, being “vigilant” about attendance allows the school to help parents of children who have legitimate needs, he said.

“Our goal in our attendance policy is not to zap anybody or push anybody when they’re running into hard times,” he said. “We’re not after anybody or trying to get anybody. We’re just trying to find out why kids aren’t here and then match resources to where (they are needed).”

A concern voiced by some after the school board’s initial vote was that students who regularly attend school and get good grades could still wind up in trouble if they get sick more often than usual or have a family emergency that pulls them away from school.

With fewer parent notes available, some worried parents might have to take their children to doctors and get a doctor’s note just for a run-of-the-mill sickness.

Tony Cole, a parent of three students in the West Jessamine track of schools, said he wonders about the impact on low-income families if they have to pay for additional visits to the doctor.

Cole said he understands the need to increase attendance but feels reducing parent notes amounts to taking “the easy road out.”

He said in his experience, the communication channels between schools and parents are not strong enough.

“The communications from some of the schools are slim to none,” he said.

If schools can manage to handle student absences on a case-by-base basis that takes different situations into account, Cole said he believes “that would be a way to do it,” but “sometimes, the communication is not there yet.”

Superintendent Fields said improving those communication channels will be a point of emphasis with school staff as they come back for the next school year. Parents should feel a responsibility to keep schools informed about when and why their children will be absent, as well, she added.

“It’s that give and take and conversation. We can’t do anything about something which we know nothing about,” she said. “It’s not about punishing; it’s about working together. I would encourage families who feel like there is a situation where communication has broken down to reach out — or reach out once again — to the principal.”

When the communication works, there are many options available for students who wind up with an unusual number of absences.

A home-hospital program is available for students who need extended periods of absences from school, such as for a surgery or due to pregnancy, said Virginia Simpson, director of pupil personnel.

When a student qualifies for home-hospital, a teacher visits the student on the family’s schedule for one-hour sessions. The student’s absences from school do not count against the number of allowed parent or doctor notes.

Schools have nurses who work with students with chronic illnesses and help the families of those students with any needed absences from school, Simpson said.

If a student has had an “unusual year” in terms of absences due to sicknesses or other legitimate reasons, the district can call a health advisory committee meeting, which parents can attend and explain what has been going on. Various school officials attend those committee meetings in order to provide any available resources to those students and families, Simpson explained.

And in situations where emergencies arise, such as a death in the family that requires the student to travel out-of-state for several school days, it’s also possible for a parent to call the principal and request administrative approval for an absence, Simpson said. Principal-excused absences do not count against any of the other limits on note-excused absences.

Simpson said she knows some parents have complained about truancy letters, which are first sent out after students miss three days of school without a valid excuse.

The wording on the warning letters notes that if the parent believes the letter has been sent in error to contact the school, Simpson said.

Parents who know there’s been a mistake or that there are legitimate reasons for the absences shouldn’t worry about strong wording in the letters — no action is ever taken by the district against parents until after officials have completed due diligence on a case, Simpson said.

Simpson, like many other school officials, emphasized communication as an important piece of the attendance puzzle.

Parents should continue to write notes for their children’s absences, even if they’ve already used all six notes, she said.

“When we’re looking at it at this level, it tells us that the parent is communicating with us,” she said. “… Communication is what we’re trying for. We’re not trying to send people to jail for truancy or anything like that. We just want their children to be successful.”

Vicky Sandford, a long-time teacher at East Jessamine High School, said she supports the board’s move toward reducing parent notes.

There is a culture in Jessamine County that de-emphasizes the importance of attending school, which is not good for the future of Jessamine’s students, she said.

“As a teacher in Jessamine County, I see the problem of absenteeism. I really support the fact that they have narrowed parent excuses down,” she said. “… There’s just a different mentality about school about attendance (in Jessamine County).”

Reducing the number of parent notes will contribute to changing the culture and ultimately improving educational outcomes, Sandford said.

“I think the absenteeism policy will help parents … who think it’s OK to be absent for things that may not be a doctor’s appointment, may not be an emergency. Maybe that will get them to school,” she said. “… Once they’re there, we can teach the kids. And once they’re there and can be taught, their scores are going to improve and everything is going to get better.”