Good attendance can be vital to academic success

(Published Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007 in Examiner-Enterprise)

Everyone loves a vacation.

They often take us to special places we've never seen before. Or perhaps, they allow us the opportunity to visit face-to-face with friends and family members we've been meaning to see.

Vacation time is often quality time.

Within the Bartlesville Public School District , we know quality time is often found in the classroom as well. Test scores have been increasing for the last several years at our schools throughout the district as our teachers help students lay a rock-solid foundation of knowledge which will aid them immensely in the future.

But since the process of education can often be hard work – both for the students and the teachers – we try to mix in a fair share of vacation time for everyone. Thus, we end up with multiple days off, such as those that can be found during fall break and spring break as well as around the time of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

In essence, the school calendar mixes plenty of study time with a solid amount of down time. While we want our students to be well educated, we want them to be able to enjoy a full life outside of the classroom as well.

Test scores within the Bartlesville Public School District have been going up in recent years, the fact of which is an immense source of pride for all of us. Through the dedication and hard work of our teachers and students, we have made great strides across the curriculum span in areas such as math, reading, writing, social studies and science. As our goal is always to be the best school district around, we're certainly headed in the right direction.

When Academic Performance Index scores were released last year – the 2007 results are due to be finalized by the Oklahoma Department of Education soon – we were quite happy. The API measures students in a variety of subject areas as well as attendance. The attendance figures within the district usually hover around 95 percent on a given day. These numbers typically leave us with a strong final figure once the end-of-year numbers are totaled.

But though our attendance figures are generally good, they could be better. This idea was reinforced by our 2006 API scores, where all of our schools would have had better final scores had their attendance been a little stronger. The irony is that in many cases, the lowest score for a given school was in the area of attendance. And it stands to reason that the easiest part of any school day would be the simple act of showing up.

That's where vacation time needs to be considered. While it's not always possible to schedule time off during the down time the school calendar allows for, it can aid everyone involved. If families are able to take their vacations during a time period when school is out, parents don't have to worry about their children falling behind on their academics. The students don't feel overwhelmed by having to make up extra school work. And, instructors can keep their lesson plans on schedule and all of their pupils on the same page.

Sometimes, routine appointments – such as a dental check-up – can be scheduled after the school day has ended, such as at 4 p.m. A Saturday might work as well. It's important to consider that when a student misses more than two hours of school in a given day, it's considered at least a half-day's absence.

Of course, time off can't always be taken during breaks in the school calendar. Students do get sick, and whenever they do, we want them to get the best medical care they can and take as much time as they need in order to fully recover. By the same token, an illness in the family which requires parents to travel with their children in order to be at a loved one's bedside can't be predicted. Life doesn't always fit our schedule.

When students do miss time due to an absence, our teachers do a fantastic job of working to make sure they don't fall behind in their instruction. But one of the best ways to make sure a youngster doesn't trail off is to make sure he or she is in class as often as possible.