By Abby Tatter

Editor-in-Chief

In May 2011, the phrase “administrative F” was a foreign concept to the majority of the Reynolds student body. Now, it is an infamous phrase with meanings that are known and feared by many.

The beginning of the 2011-12 school year brought a new attendance policy inspired by the noted lack of attendance in previous years.

“During a School Improvement Team meeting last year, it was brought up that attendance was a big problem for a lot of our students,” said math teacher Allison George, a SIT member. “We decided to research WSFCS’ policy and that of other school districts in the state.”

One aspect of the attendance policy that was implemented for the first time this year is the rule that students with six or more absences in a class can be denied credit for the course. After a student reaches six absences – whether excused or unexcused – he or she must submit a waiver at the end of the quarter.

The waiver form contains a comment section for parents to explain special situations and a section teachers fill out listing how many absences were excused and unexcused along with the number of tardies a student received for the quarter. A committee with several teachers and an assistant principal then reviews each waiver form.

Students who fail to submit an attendance waiver for each of the classes in which they were excessively absent will receive an administrative F for the quarter.

“There are students who have gotten administrative Fs in classes,” said chemistry teacher Josh Bragg, who is on the waiver committee. “It is always the result of unexcused absences. Unexcused absences are usually the result of forgetting to bring in an excuse note, and to a lesser degree, skipping class. Neither of those is acceptable.”

The administrative F is not merely a punishment. Students who receive that F one quarter can have the actual grade they earned in a class reinstated on their academic record if they go the following quarter without an unexcused absence. In this way, the administrative F rewards improvement.

With the enforcement of the policy, attendance has shown an overall increase. In each 20-day period this year compared to the same 20-day periods from last year, attendance has increased by almost 2 percent, and that percentage continues to grow.

“Attendance is up substantially over last year,” Bragg said. “In addition, the gap between this year and last year is increasing as the year goes on. Better attendance was our goal when we considered writing the policy and I think this policy is moving us in the right direction.

“Our goal is for students to come to class,” Bragg continued, “and when they must be absent, to bring in a note to verify that they were absent for a legitimate reason. That is all that we want.”

Although teachers and administrators are pleased with the policy and its results, not all students feel as positively.

“As students, I think that as long as we are conscious of our grades and make sure that we maintain an A, we shouldn’t be punished for our absences,” senior Amelia Eaton said. “It doesn’t seem fair that you can go from having an A in a class to an administrative F for not being there.”

More information on the rules of the attendance policy can be found in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ student handbook.