A Batman cartoon shows the importance of showing up to work on time. (Adelai Chisholm)

Walking through the classroom door is every high schooler’s responsibility. We are responsible for showing up at 8:15 a.m., paying attention to classes for the next seven hours and hopefully learning along the way. While I dread hearing my alarm ring at 7:00 a.m., I know there is value in the responsibility of attending school. It mirrors the expectations of the workplace.

Having a job is similar to taking a class; there are known consequences for not showing up. But the school’s absence policy is more forgiving. At work, nine days of absence will get you fired. At school, the punishment is just making up missed assignments at Greyhound Time. Although only a slap on the wrist, it is more incentive to participate in classes than students had before. By having soft punishments, the new absence policy eases students into the responsibility of life beyond high school.

Principal Dan Gutchewsky was involved in creating this policy. He strongly believes students should spend at least 80% of their school days in person.

“Some of our students are like, ‘Well, if I can get [a good grade] and never show up, what’s the problem?” Gutchewsky said. “We wanted to make sure that we were emphasizing participation in the learning experience because things that happen between the tests are important to the overall experience, even though they may not be measured on an exam.”

The Rhode Island Department of Education shares Gutchewsky’s argument. They investigated the correlation between attendance and SAT scores in the 2023-2024 school year. They found that students who had been chronically absent that year, even if they had been regular attendees in previous years, achieved about two times lower scores on the SAT than those who were consistently present.

Starting this school year, an attendance percentage will be added to transcripts, which provides colleges with another data point for admission decisions. Universities value high attendance, so it is advantageous for students to attend as many classes as possible.
“As we look at a highly competitive college application process, colleges are struggling with some of the same issues,” Gutchewsky said. “Colleges are struggling with a lack of in-person attendance, too, believe it or not.”

A common misconception about the absence policy is that it encourages sick students to attend school. However, most students shouldn’t be motivated to do this.

“In order to hit that nine threshold, you’d have to miss the equivalent of three full weeks of school before anything would kick in,” Gutchewsky said.

Unless a student is unfortunate enough to be sick for three weeks a semester, without that illness warranting a hospitalization, sick students will not reach their nine-day absence threshold.

“The nine periods before anything kicks in is pretty generous. We’ve looked at the attendance data historically, and it impacts a small number of folks,” Gutchewsky said. “When you take out the ones that we know have known conditions or known situations, it’s an even smaller amount.”

Since the policy has been implemented, attendance has reportedly increased. The sophomores participate in a field day game, the Sophomore Challenge, every fall. David Aiello, a psychology teacher, manages this event.

“We ran out of food,” Aiello said. “I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and we always had an 80% attendance at [the] Sophomore Challenge. This year, we had 96% attendance. I just didn’t order enough food for the amount of kids that showed up that day, which was a good problem.”

A portrayal of a sick student in a classroom highlights the unintended consequences of the new policies. (Adelai Chisholm)

Throughout my 17 years, I have been lucky enough to have consistency: a steady stream of A’s and B’s, support from loved ones and even a continued animosity towards Cubs fans. However, as time passes and the world shifts from drawing turkeys out of a tracing of my hand to taking three AP tests over three days, there is only one consistent rule: Life is unpredictable.

This community and the rest of the world experienced a perfect example of life’s unpredictability in 2020 when the country suddenly shut down due to the global pandemic. Millions were left unemployed, although their circumstances were no fault of their own. Life gets in the way.

The high school introduced several new policies this year, including attendance and absence policies. The immediate reactions to the two latest additions were mixed, with many teachers finding relief due to the rise of equity-based grading and many students and parents frightened at the potential dangers. Through my interviews, I discovered that each community member interprets the policy in their own way.

“A lot of the conversations [with parents] stem from a misunderstanding of how [the policy] is implemented,” Principal Dan Gutchewsky said.

Parents have expressed concerns about the subjectivity in the appeal process, particularly regarding what qualifies for an appeal. What one person sees as a school-related or unavoidable commitment might be perceived by another as a personal choice.

Another common concern is the newfound lack of trust in parents.

“For a lot of kids, [college visits] are the chance to get a scholarship, to go to the schools that their parents would not be able to afford otherwise,” an anonymous Clayton parent said. “[Parents] are planning these absences with the best intention. The vast majority of parents don’t take their kids out of school unless it’s necessary.”

A system that formerly allowed parents to excuse their children from school, free of any penalty besides having to make up their missed work, now punishes students for uncontrollable events that prevent them from attending school.

“By default, they now assume you’re guilty, and you have to prove yourself innocent. In the system before, you were assumed to be innocent unless proven guilty,” the parent said.

The new system creates a “bureaucratic hurdle” for the Clayton community, adding new variables to students’ ability to appeal.

“I have to convince them it’s an excusable offense,” the parent said. “It makes it harder for me and the school because they will have to assign somebody who will put in man hours to investigate. It creates unnecessary bureaucracy.”

A concern shared by both parents and faculty is the time required to resolve the matter when a student has over eight absences. Gutchewsky addressed the issue of a student’s no credit in the grade book being bound by a teacher’s availability to meet with them.
Another potential issue is the deadline for filing and completing the appeal process.

“As a parent, I am very busy,” the parent said. “My kid might be penalized for no fault of their own because I missed the deadline.”

Although very few students intentionally skip classes and have their parents excuse their absences, the school resorted to mass punishment, potentially harming everyone and adding stress to those who never committed any wrongdoings in the first place.

“[Clayton] is having this issue with some students, but instead of dealing with the offenders, they carpet bomb and penalize everyone,” the parent said. “Why should everyone suffer for those few who do skip school?”

The parent created an analogy for how the school has chosen to handle attendance, comparing the new policies to addressing cell phone usage on the highway.

“When driving on the highway, you look up and see the sign, ‘Smartphones do not make smart drivers.’ It makes you think, and most people will fall in line. That’s one approach. Or you can stop everyone on the highway and say, ‘Where’s your phone?’” the parent said.

Spanish professor Micah Johnson mirrors the concern of students and parents, which is that the new policies may motivate students to come to school sick to avoid having another absence on their record.

“The message in 2021 when we returned to in-person learning was to stay home if you’re sick. Maybe it was my naivete, but I hoped that certain life lessons from the pandemic would last,” Johnson said. “There seems to be an inherent conflict between ‘stay home if you’re sick’ and ‘don’t miss too many days.’”

Since the new policies were enacted, the district has sent out surveys asking parents, students, and teachers for their opinions. Despite the concerns and potential dangers that have been brought to the administration’s attention, the policies have seen no change thus far.

“I was concerned that this policy did not have a time for public comment,” the parent said. “It was implemented, and we were notified post-factum. I think when policies like these are implemented, there has to be an open forum, and they should ask for opinions from parents.”