National Attendance Awareness Month is upon us at Green Level, and whether you have perfect attendance every morning or rack up three tardies a week, attendance matters more than ever this year. Why? Because for the first time, any grade level at Green Level can get exempt from the final exam for any class (except CTEs with PBMs) by keeping absences under 10, tardies under 10, and holding at least an A or B in the class. That’s right, not just seniors, even freshmen and sophomores finally have a reason to care about attendance.
The new rule has made a big impact throughout the school, changing the way people perceive showing up to class. Suddenly, students who didn’t think twice about a tardy slip now dread seeing their name marked absent, because one carries a price that could possibly make or break 20% of your final grade. Students who used to skip all the time for food are now resisting the urge, realizing that a week off after each semester is worth way more than skipping a class for a Chick-fil-A trip. Most students would happily lighten their academic load, and this policy is the golden ticket.
The policy has changed junior Josh Deolivera’s view on tardies.
“I think that I wanna show up to class even more now, cause like, im not tryna take the final, even if I feel like skipping or don’t have anything in class that day, I still have to go.¨ Deolivera said.
Other students are making changes to their routines to stay on the safe side.
Junior Drew Liles said, “Yeah, I started leaving home a good 20 minutes earlier to make sure I don’t get tardy or miss the bus in the mornings.”
The policy doesn’t just motivate students however, it also adds pressure.
Logan Dziedzina explained, “It makes you motivated to go to school, but also stressed, because if you’re at the 8 or 9 mark, you’re gonna be stressed about missing anything.”
So far this year, most students are on track to be exempt and dodge exam week entirely. For others, though, it’s more about seeing how close they can cut it before the double-digit danger zone.
Attendance Awareness Month isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being mindful. School starts early, and life happens. For a lot of us, bad sleep schedules, sports, jobs, or even bad time management get in the way of things. However, the motivation of not having to study for a big test and basically being in control of the last 20 % of a final grade, was enough to make most students alter their habits in order to show up. Whether your attendance is flawless or the kind of thing you poke fun at, showing up actually has a reward this year.
Attendance Awareness Month is a reminder that showing up is the first step to getting anything done, not just for school, but for yourself, your community, and your future. The goal isn’t to turn everyone into an attendance perfectionist but to highlight that every day counts, even if what you’re really counting is each minute until the bell rings.
