Attendance Records, Confidential?

LindaS

I am currently working with our local high school regarding attendance issues of students. We are trying to figure some ways for students to realize the importance of regular attendance as well as address issues regarding poor attendance. One of the suggestions made by the Associate Principal was to possibly be able to obtain a copy of the parent's attendance record when meeting with parents regarding the student's attendance in the hopes that the parent will see the connection from their attendance problems (if there are any) to the student's.

I have some concerns regarding the confidentiality of the attendance record and would like some input from you regarding what your thoughts are on this.

Thanks for the help.

Don D

You mean the parents' records way back when they were in school? I think it's not a good idea. Sounds too invasive to me to be beneficial to your efforts. I think it would serve to establish an adversarial relationship between the counselor and the parent. The parent would feel threatened by your knowledge of their prior failings. It's like saying, "Hey, you also failed the third grade, so can you see why perhaps Angela just failed the third grade?"

This is one of those deals where the old question is appropriate for analysis: "What's the worst possible outcome this can have and am I prepared to deal with that?"

sonny

I took this to mean they are going to pull the records of when they called the parents in to talk about the kids (current)and the parents don't show. I agree with Don tho, think you will get them on the defense. Don't have any answers, but I'd try to find another way.

deniseE

From a parent's perspective, I have to say that I would be insulted by this approach...and the assumption that if my kid is a problem, then I must either have been one, or be one too.

Unfortunately, you will likely have to confront this on a case by case basis. No two situations are alike. My husband and I are raising his son from his previous marriage...we attend all parent meetings, we are regularly at work, had good attendance records during our schooling...and our son is the polar opposite.

We are not neglecting his mental or physical needs...it's not the school's fault...he just IS what he is. And as hard as it will be, someday he'll have to really face the reality of the pattern he's created.

I wish there was a magic bullet for a wake up call...if you find it, please let me know!!!xpray

POPEYE

I took the post as asking about releasing the parent's attendance records from work to show some correlation. That would be a definite no unless the parents were in agreement and then I would still have questions as to the relevance unless performance evaluations revealed that attendance was tied to performance for the parent. Not a good idea!

sonny

I just re-read the post (again) and think Popeye may be right. Worst scenerio of them all!

DeidreFR5

I read this the same as you. But I suspect that in some cases, the child who does not see attendance (or lack there of) as a problem has parents who have the same philosophy. I know this isn't always the case, but in some it is. We recently terminated an employee because of their attendance (called in sick because they thought they were coming down with something). One of the manager's comments was "When her mother worked here, it was the same thing."

marc

It does not address all the issues, but I like to use the natural consequences of behavior to modify same. You will end up dealing with the parents issues not the students and you will create a huge reservoir of resentment which the parents can draw from during the students entire tenure at school. Do not do this. The students will not be able to modify the parents behavior and could be placed in the very uncomfortable position between his/her parents and the school district. This is a difficult position from which to operate.

I believe that many of these cycles are passed down from parent to child. This perpetuation is insidious and rarely recognized by any current generation. It is often the case that the parents do not recognize that similar choices they made a decade or more ago have put them in situations they cannot control and that they are dooming their progeny to a similar fate.

I say work directly with the kids who hopefully still have some formative years and decisions left to them. With them you still have a chance, with the parents, it would take some form of a lightning strike to make a change.

LindaS

I would like to thank all of you for your responses. To clarify some of the confusion the question that was asked of me, as an employer, is whether or not providing an employee's work attendance record to the school when the child of the employee is having an attendance problem is something that could be done.

My concerns mirrored many of yours from the standpoint of confidentiality and what it would truly accomplish. If I have an employee who has a poor attendance record at work and the child has a poor attendance record at school, would anything be accomplished by giving the school the employment information, probably not.

Thanks again for the responses. At least I know that I wasn't totally off track.

Don D

If I have an employee who has
>a poor attendance record at work and the child
>has a poor attendance record at school, would
>anything be accomplished by giving the school
>the employment information, probably not.
>

Well, yes, that would accomplish several things, but none of them positive. The very least of the problems would be the confidentiality issue. If you think you've seen me go ballistic on the Forum, wait till you see me in a room where some school employee brings up my work record in a discussion of my child's school issues. x:-)

LindaS

Don, I agree that providing the employee's attendance record is NOT the answer but the crux of the problem is, at least in the town I live, getting kids to understand the importance of regular attendance both at school and at work. If you have any suggestions on how to do this, I would greatly appreciate it as we (the business community) are trying to work with the schools so that the students that come out of the school are better prepared for what is expected of them as an employee.

Don D

I regularly address the business classes at our local High School, from which we select our co-ops. Been doing that for many years. We role play, share funny things about interviews and resumes and appearance and do's and don'ts and try to make it interesting and fun for the students rather than a guy in a tie coming in to lecture them.

LindaS

I do the same thing, although our program is at the middle school level. The concern I have with doing this type of thing in 7th grade is that there isn't any reinforcement on it in high school. We are working toward doing something like this in the high school level as well.\

Thanks for your input.