Attendance concerns #SOLC25 5/31

#SOL25, Slice of Life, teaching 3 Minutes

Thanks to one of my colleagues, many of us have this sticker on our laptops: 

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You would think that this would help us remember to turn in our attendance for every class every day, but if our Vice Principal is to be believed (and he seems reliable enough), it does not.

As a result of my inability to submit attendance for all of my classes before 4pm, I have written myself an attendance letter. 

(NB: Our lovely administrators would never actually write a letter like this!)

Dear [Employee Name],

We are writing to express our concern regarding your recent attendance pattern: specifically, [insert problem here: you keep forgetting to turn it in].

Our records indicate that you sometimes take attendance as soon as class begins. We commend you for your optimism! We know that on those days, invariably, at least 12 students arrive late – generally walking in one by one over a 45-minute period – and thanks to our fancy tracking system, you have to keep a record of the time at which each student enters the class. We understand that this might be difficult for you, but noting their arrival time is imperative for our systems.

We are here to support you. May we suggest noting arrivals on a piece of paper and hoping you don’t misplace it before you enter the data later in the day? Do you even have paper near you? If not, why not? If so, where do you keep it? And do you manage to keep a pen, too? That would be impressive organization for a teacher who is also moving about the room to respond to her students. Alternately, perhaps you could pause your instruction, freeze the projected computer screen each time another student enters, then navigate to our school attendance site and immediately enter their arrival. Would that disrupt your teaching? If so, what is your plan to manage that problem?

Consistent attendance taking is crucial to the smooth operation of our school. Your attendance-taking pattern has impacted [explain specific impacts, e.g., our records]. According to our computerized records, your period Z class has nearly perfect attendance, despite the fact that one student no longer attends school at all. We note, too, that you insist that this class is “nearly unmanageable” with “students entering and leaving at will.” This implies that perhaps you are forgetting to submit your attendance for this class.

We are here to support you. Have you tried using a hall pass system? Perhaps students in this class would be willing to write their arrival and departure times on a piece of paper strategically placed near the door. Attention: do not write student names where others can see them; this might be shaming. We realize that all the other students have seen the late arrivals; nevertheless, we invite you to manage attendance privately. Maybe you can place the paper a little out of the way? And put a cover on it? And you will probably want to attach a pencil. We are certain your students will use this paper appropriately. Also, please note that even if a student spends 70 minutes of the 75-minute class period “in the bathroom”, you should still mark that student present and note the time they arrived.

We encourage you to discuss any underlying issues that may be affecting your ability to maintain regular attendance, and we highly doubt that your attendance records reflect anything close to reality. Please reach out to [supervisor’s name] to discuss potential solutions and support options available to address these concerns. Please note that [supervisor’s name] is unwilling to text you every. single. day to remind you to do your attendance. That’s what your laptop sticker is for.

We value your contributions to the team and want to work with you to ensure your attendance meets school expectations.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Title]

Unknown's avatar

Published by Amanda Potts

I'm a high school English teacher in Ottawa, Ontario. I read, write, walk & take a LOT of pictures. Sometimes my kids let me write about them. I use this space to think and write about teaching and living.

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27 thoughts on “Attendance concerns #SOLC25 5/31”

  1. Oh my goodness, I would go crazy! You have to mark down the TIME they come in late?? Your email describes perfectly how unrealistic that is. A lovely format for expressing a real frustration!

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  2. “…perhaps you could pause your instruction, freeze the projected computer screen each time another student enters, then navigate to our school attendance site and immediately enter their arrival. Would that disrupt your teaching? If so, what is your plan to manage that problem?”

    Laughing and crying. Nailed it. Per usual.

    “Please note that even if a student spends 70 minutes of the 75 minute class period “in the bathroom”, you should still mark that student present and note the time they arrived.”

    WT___?

    Why does all the encouraging and supporting feel so tyrannical?

    –Steph Scrap Quilts, Here. In attendance.

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  3. I think you have a LOVELY format expressing how YOU and most likely many others feel about noting all that information while STILL focusing on teaching new curriculum, catching kids up, monitoring behaviors…..writing notes to admins….all that stuff

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  4. Amanda,

    LOL! And you’ve inspired me. I’m grateful. I actually had a 283 word comment going and said to myself, “Amanda does not want to read an essay in the comments,” so I decided I need to write about the life of a sub taking attendance. That will happen soon on a day that works for my time slot life. Anyway, I’m having all kinds of flashback PTSD attendance memories. Why can’t kids just come to class, be on time, and stay for the entire period?

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  5. OK, but like…even though our administration doesn’t say it, and I have wonderful admin., this really isn’t too far from the truth. I mark students absent only have to be called up 15 minutes later with the secretary asking me if they are actually absent. Soooo…your letter is this beautiful tie in of humour, but also how much we have to balance as teachers and the almost unrealistic expectations. Well done.

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    2. I am regularly grateful that I don’t teach elementary where if I miss the attendance deadline it’s actually a problem. At least in high school we’re not calling parents in the morning when a kid doesn’t show up. Although, wait… maybe that would help!

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  8. Doesn’t a student check in at the office when they come in late? Our students did and then they were sent to their class. This would drive me buggy.

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  9. I know exactly what you’re talking about. The expectations placed on teachers to keep track of when a student enters is incredibly difficult and disruptive. It sounds like the students are taking advantage of the system if there are numerous students arriving late each day. I used to have my students sign in on a sheet each day but sometimes students would forge a student’s name on the sign in sheet. I would know who was and wasn’t there. LOL! This, of course, was in a college class so it may not be appropriate for your students. Anyway, your letter is hysterically written. I love your sarcasm. So good!

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  12. I had a friend across the hall who set alarms for everything. Her alarms were always going off. There are many teachers who come to grade level meetings and a random alarm will go off. “That’s my attendance reminder,” they explain!

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