Principals from Gardendale High, Bragg Middle and Gardendale, Snow Rogers, Mt. Olive and Brookville elementary schools met on Wednesday to discuss school attendance and other school zone issues.

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



School administrators are not playing around this year when it comes to student attendance.

Particu-larly important are the first few days of school, according to Cynde Cornelius, principal of Fultondale Elementary School.

“The first couple of days of school will be very, very important,” she said.

School starts back on Aug. 13, which is a Wednesday. Cornelius said that some parents tend to let their children stay out until the following week.

However, during the first three days of school, students at Fultondale Elementary will be doing important reading assessments, Cornelius said.

Fultondale is among the 87-percent of elementary schools in Alabama that has adopted a new reading series by publisher Scott Foresman, according to Fultondale Elementary assistant principal Reta Hayes.

“They will really be behind if they don’t come those first three days,” Cornelius said. “We’re setting up procedures that the teachers will be following those first few days.”

In addition to benefiting children, student attendance also affects school budgets.

“We get money for the number of students we have on the first, third and fifth days of school,” Cornelius said.

The Alabama Department of Education allots funds for schools based on attendance those three days, but also for the first 40 days of school, Hayes said.

Hayes said she will be informing parents how important it is for kids to be in school the first week.

At a meeting Wednesday, principals in the Gardendale High School feeder pattern all agreed to all handle school absences consistently and by the book.

That is, by the official Jefferson County Board of Education policy.

According to the board’s school attendance policy, most recently revised in April 1999, students attending a school that uses the block scheduling program may not exceed five absences per term.

Students in a non-block scheduling program may not exceed nine absences per semester.

Three tardies or early departures equal one absence, according to the board of education’s policy on student absences.

At the principals’ meeting Wednesday were the administrators of Gardendale High, Bragg Middle and Gardendale, Snow Rogers, Mt. Olive and Brookville elementary schools.

Dr. Anna Vacca, principal of Gardendale High School, said that cracking down on absences is nothing new at her school because she has always enforced the county policy.

Other principals, like Karen White at Snow Rogers and Judy Sullivan at Mt. Olive, said their students and parents are in store for some changes this year. They will not be as lenient regarding absences.