A Healthy Way to Manage Absences from School

As we leap further into the second quarter, students are missing more and more days from school.  At the most recent board meeting, the topic of absences was brought to light which has put some questions into our minds: 

“How often do kids here REALLY miss school?” 

“What reasons do students have for this?” 

“What struggles does this bring?” 

I was able to uncover some answers and even get some helpful insight into the mental health side of the subject.

Statistics from the KW Student Poll with 26 respondents

• When asked, students claimed to have missed 2-12 days so far this year.

• Most of these individuals had excuses acceptable by teacher standards such as sick days or appointments.

• 8 students said they missed a school obligation.

• 5 students missed school just to skip or for a mental health day.

• 40% of those respondents described that missing those days led to an unbearable return to school. Stress levels were described as a 10/10.

• 13% said stress levels were 7/10.

After looking at those statistics, two things might strike you: the raw number of absences and the high stress levels among students. Regarding the high number of days missed, the question of what is a viable excuse comes into play. Most classes accept sick days as a genuine reason but sometimes higher-level classes aren’t as open to it.  Some AP and IB students noted that many teachers have stricter turn-in policies and see sick days as more of an unneeded disturbance than a genuine reason. As an IB student myself, this often leads to students coming in on days they shouldn't, leading to viruses amongst students spreading quicker which may overall increase absences. That being said, for classes like this, having a family obligation or needing a day off will most likely end up disappointing teachers.   

Feelings of being behind in class or disappointing your teacher lead to the previously mentioned stress levels. Student Aislyn O’Malley stated that “a lot of people get stressed out about doing late work” and a major reason for that is teacher responses and inflexible due dates. For students who take days off for mental health reasons, the element of missing work may create more internal conflicts creating an inescapable paradox. This can be extremely hard for struggling students. Some students in this position have said it would help if they were able to communicate more easily with their teachers and if the teachers were more accommodating.  This was similarly said for students with sick days. Across the board, all students agreed that teachers should be more willing to extend due dates when needed. Student Joe Riggie agrees and states the importance of teachers making “sure to give them extra time” However, there were a few comments made on the legitimacy of asking for extensions when your absence isn’t necessarily “excused.” Some students state they feel it’s unfair that people who simply miss school for mental health or “just because” ask for extensions. They believe it makes anyone else asking to look bad in return. This could be a genuine factor as to why some teachers don’t accept late work, however, it’s not entirely fair to those who need that mental health day. 

Students also had a lot to say about the ways they believe adults in the building could help students who need days off or miss school for sick days. They stated some teachers could be quicker in responding to emails and be more understanding.  Some students mentioned that they wished teachers understood they may have more going on in their lives than just schoolwork. Quinn Blair-Heim believes that for teachers “it’s important to be more understanding and try to make exceptions depending on the situation”. An open line of communication seems to be the easiest way to help students with the missing workload. It’s also important to recognize that it goes both ways. Teachers may need to work on their missing day policies but some students may need to work on managing their absences. Students communicating with adults on their mental health needs and making up work is essential in establishing a trusted teacher-student relationship. This could give more of an understanding on both sides for things like extensions and excused absences built off trust.

Taking a mental health day can be completely justified and even beneficial when communicated and executed properly.

Overall both teachers and students need to be aware of absences. Students need to be able to communicate and accommodate for the time missed in the classroom, and teachers can aid students in the process.