Now that we have entered the last weeks of October the shine of the return to school has faded and the rigors of artistic and academic classwork and homework have descended upon our students. At every school, this inevitability tests the mettle of the community--faculty, parents, and students alike. Classwork begins to mount, teachers' demands begin to exceed students' willingness, and ever-increasing homework adds additional stressors.
Part of our commitment to the students and parents, as well as to the integrity of the quality of LACHSA's programs rests in our engagement with students when difficulties take root. This engagement resides, in part, in the belief that students' chances of success at LACHSA are enhanced when they are present and engaged in classes.
Frequent absences-not those caused by illness or health issues--by some of our students have plagued LACHSA for some time and we have made monitoring and intervening with students who have excessive absences a priority.
Our recent audit of attendance by grade has revealed some interesting findings: Of the students who have four or more absences in at least one class twelve of these students are in 9th grade, twenty-two in 10th grade, forty-one in 11th grade and a staggering 57 are seniors!
In some ways it is understandable that our seniors have the highest rate of absenteeism at LACHSA. They have difficult schedules to manage, they are enmeshed in the college application process and are looking for time, and to be frank, they have learned how to navigate, quite successfully, the culture of accountability.
While all of this is true and may contribute to absences in addition to those related to illness and health, my hope is that we can do our very best to monitor and support students so that they have the best chance to succeed. Faculty and administration are emphasizing the importance of being in class at LACHSA and I would like to encourage our parents to join us in reinforcing this message.
Please continue to review our Parent Portal at lachsa.net and submit any excused absence forms to the main office within the required three days, and help ensure that all work that is missed due to absences is completed. As a reminder, eight unexcused absences may result in a failing grade. We would like to intervene with students before they reach this point, particularly for students who are about to send transcripts to colleges for admission.
Faculty and members of our Student Support Team will be contacting families when we are concerned about student absenteeism and I hope that parents will continue to play a vital role in ensuring that our students exploit all of the learning opportunities afforded them while at LACHSA.
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