Fun fact! WHS students spend an average of 175 days, 25 weeks, and 1,400 hours in school in a single school year!

 As most of you know, the school year is divided into 2 semesters, which includes 2 quarters per semester. At the end of each semester, WHS students take 2 required finals depending on what grade you are in. However, a final for all your classes becomes mandatory if you miss more than 2 class days, have more than 2 tardies in a class period, and if you do not maintain a grade of C or higher in a semester subject.

The Good Attendance Policy was implemented to exclude the students who miss less than 2 class days, have less than 2 tardies in a class, and maintain a grade of C or higher in a semester class. You do get the chance to take the final, even if you are exempted from taking it, to improve your grade. It will only be added if the final increases your grade.

When asked if the policy could be permanently removed, Mrs. Larson, one of our assistant principals here in WHS, replied with, “We have actually had a lot of conversations about whether the policy should exist or not exist. I would say that most of our teachers and probably our students want the policy to stay there. If it were to go away, then all finals would have to be taken and I know that there have been some conversations with Mr. Germundson (WHS’s principal) in wanting that. But I do know that some other schools have done that (taking away their Good Attendance Reward policy) and what happens is their attendance plummets…”

Evidently, the Good Attendance Policy was put in place to terminate the likelihood of students skipping class. It was put in place to reward WHS students who attend class regularly. The policy has been in effect longer than Mrs. Larson has been our assistant principal here in WHS, which means, over the years, the policy has produced positive results.

On the contrary, students like myself want to tweak part of the policy, specifically the number of days we can miss before the policy does not apply to us anymore. By that meaning, if somehow the school could increase the number of days we can miss in a semester. Extending the number of minimum days to 3, possibly more, shouldn’t hurt too much. Given that one semester is about 90 days, it seems unfair that we are given 2 class days before we take a final for all our classes if we miss another day.

During a survey taken by 76 WHS students, 46.1% voted that they disliked the Good Attendance Policy and wanted it to change. 19.7% disliked it and wanted it to be removed. The remaining 34.2% either voted that they liked it or had no opinion about the policy.

The survey conducted shows a majority of our students wanting to change the policy. Completely removing the policy will result with all finals required to be taken, which by my guess is that students will not like it. A tiny change to this policy, possibly for the better, will hopefully improve the attendance or maybe nothing changes at all.

If you need more information about the Good Attendance Policy, the student handbook,  which can be found on the Williston High School website or the actual copy of the handbook, is a great place to find what you might be looking for. Go Make A Difference Coyotes!