Virginia law states that children between five and 18 are required to attend school on a daily basis.
In the case of pre-approved absences, administrators do not penalize students until they miss 15 consecutive days. The Fairfax County attendance policies are mandated uniformly across the board, but the individual absence protocols of the classroom differ from one educator to another.
Every teacher can determine attendance rules in relation to homework, exams and projects as they see fit, but according to freshman Anushka Vashisht, the communication irregularities and pile-up of assignments causes stress.
“I feel like teachers really don’t help. It is really hard for a student to get everything done when you have been sick and then you are back,” Vashisht said. “Right when I come back to school I am packed with things to do, and I have no life for that whole week.”
The resources designed for easy access to teachers cause mixed reactions. Although some believe it to be a crucial part of a timely catch up, others see Learn and Blackboard as mismanaged when it comes to returning stress-free. Not all teachers choose to regularly update their Blackboard page, and some choose not to use it at all.
“Everybody is scared to miss a day of high school, because once you come back it’s a nightmare,” freshman Daniel Blackburn said. “The teachers don’t help, Blackboard doesn’t help, so you are screwed. Either you come to school sick and you are miserable, or you are miserable when you come back.”
Conversely, according to freshman Tatev Gomtsyan, teacher assistance and resources can come as a major advantage.
“I missed a whole week of school, so when I came back I had to take tests I had missed and there were a few in each class,” Gomtsyan said. “The teachers told me to come to Learn so I could get the papers and they could tell me what to study, so that helped a lot.”
Absences are usually caused by medical emergencies, appointments, vacations and athletic or academic competitions. Most of these are either mandatory, or out of the child’s control, which sophomore Abby Greene believes is the reason that teachers should treat absences more loosely.
“For me, being absent is usually when I am sick or I have a doctor’s note, it is not usually like if I am tired, so it is mandatory for me,” Greene said. “It is usually very difficult to come back to school and catch up on my work, and most of the time my teachers aren’t very helpful.”