Missing School for Softball

[riseball]

Lots of good stuff here! I always believe that honesty is the best policy, but when you are dealing with "edu-crats" you never know what is best. Some may point to the Student Handbook and others like some have said may take a keen interest in DD's extra curricular activities and look the other way.

She just might end up having an extremely unusual case of a normal temperature! I might even have a thermometer that is out of calibration.

I used to get crap all the time from my DD's High School about her missing class for showcases and the coach used to punish her for missing practice for ongoing Physical Therapy after her surgery. Now 2 years after graduation they post about her accomplishments as if they were fans all along.

 

[JAD]

There were also times we picked her up half way through the day as that did not count as an absence.

Whenever I check my DD out of school she has to bring back a doctors note for it to be excused. DD attends a very large high school, so there are lot of rules and regulations. Some of her teachers are understanding and some are sticklers for the rules. The problem is you cannot take a chance of getting a zero on any missed assignments from the sticklers for the rules.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I had a home schooled 16 yo, that started lessons with me. She was in HS rodeo. She had attended 4 HSs by the time she graduated, due to attendance requirements. She would start at a school, with the understanding that she would miss every Friday. Then, every school would start giving her a hard time. She is now a sophomore in college, on a rodeo scholarship.

 

[bigchad64]

Stating the obvious, every kid is different. Taking the school policy out of the picture, some kids are driven enough to stay on top of things even if they miss every once in awhile for sports/extra curricular activities. School IS the priority, but performing at a high level in athletics fosters a positive/goal oriented/aggressive-achievement mindset that spills over into every area of life...including school.

With that said, if we were in a district that had stringent rules about those kinds of absences, it would be a tough call. Due to attendance requirements for our state A+ program (that has meant paid-for community college), I would think families would have to count the cost.

In the end, I'm the parent, I'll make the call. And this is coming from a Highschool teacher

 

[riseball]

Stating the obvious, every kid is different. Taking the school policy out of the picture, some kids are driven enough to stay on top of things even if they miss every once in awhile for sports/extra curricular activities. School IS the priority, but performing at a high level in athletics fosters a positive/goal oriented/aggressive-achievement mindset that spills over into every area of life...including school.

With that said, if we were in a district that had stringent rules about those kinds of absences, it would be a tough call. Due to attendance requirements for our state A+ program (that has meant paid-for community college), I would think families would have to count the cost.

In the end, I'm the parent, I'll make the call. And this is coming from a Highschool teacher

School being the priority is a misconception. If you are going to succeed at playing ball in college the priority must be preparing yourself for that experience while in High School. That means finding a balance between academics and softball. This involves a high level of commitment, strong time management skills, and other qualities. If you are unable to balance athletics and academics while in High School your chances of figuring it out once you get to college are pretty minimal.

 

[Cannonball]

This probably works well in elementary school, but in high school just "calling in" is typically not an excused absence and students are not allowed to make up the work for an unexcused absence and it is recorded as a zero.

In the two districts that I have worked in, a parent calling in makes it an excused absence. However, if we are talking law then, there is no such thing as an excused or unexcused absence. I learned that in my administrative degree class though I still have not seen a district that doesn't differentiate. Parents have the right to take students out of class without giving a reason. That's the facts Jack. LOL

 

[quandofloo]

In the two districts that I have worked in, a parent calling in makes it an excused absence. However, if we are talking law then, there is no such thing as an excused or unexcused absence. I learned that in my administrative degree class though I still have not seen a district that doesn't differentiate. Parents have the right to take students out of class without giving a reason. That's the facts Jack. LOL

My DD asked me about that last night. We are going to visit my family on the coast this weekend and leaving Friday morning. School is out on Monday but not Friday. She was worried about what to tell the teachers and if she would get in trouble for an "unexcused" absence. I told her to not say anything at all about it. That I had a conference scheduled already with the teachers this week and I would inform them about the absence then. If they have an issue with my decision for her to miss class on Friday then they could discuss it with me but they would not like my response a whole lot.

 

[Momo'sDad]

School being the priority is a misconception. If you are going to succeed at playing ball in college the priority must be preparing yourself for that experience while in High School. That means finding a balance between academics and softball. This involves a high level of commitment, strong time management skills, and other qualities. If you are unable to balance athletics and academics while in High School your chances of figuring it out once you get to college are pretty minimal.

I don't disagree with you at all, because you're right, but I'm coming from a perspective of having been raised in a place and time when attending a (non-segregated) public school was a major opportunity. School was my job and I was expected to treat it as such. Others weren't so lucky. Maintaining the family farm was their primary job, so at harvest time, they HAD to be in the fields. It was nothing for a student to miss 7-8 days straight. Though I can't recall specifics from 1st grade, I have clear and vivid memories of our classrooms being down several students for days at a time the following year when I was 7-8 years old.

The point of sharing this anecdote is that - although I did allow DD to miss part of a day to travel for softball - I was not of the mindset that she got to take what would have amounted to a full "day off". She's got an east coast campus visit scheduled for this fall that will require her to miss 2 days of school, but this will be an academic trip.

Again, I do not disagree with you as balance is key to success in life, but as a general statement, I think the average student - and family - ought to treat school as more of a priority than they oftentimes do.

 

[Momo'sDad]

As to the OP, it's none of the school's business why a student is or will be absent. By middle school, it's up to the student to negotiate the terms for making up any missed assignments. As a simply courtesy, students should inform teachers of any anticipated absences.

 

[bigchad64]

School being the priority is a misconception. If you are going to succeed at playing ball in college the priority must be preparing yourself for that experience while in High School. That means finding a balance between academics and softball. This involves a high level of commitment, strong time management skills, and other qualities. If you are unable to balance athletics and academics while in High School your chances of figuring it out once you get to college are pretty minimal.

Guess I should have said, "The priority for US is School."

I played a sport in college, I know the grind