Regular attendance measures the percentage of students who have attended more than 90 percent of the term.
Results for regular attendance in term two were:
All deciles were well down on previous years.
There were approximately 128,000 students “chronically” absent in that they missed 30% or more school days.
Going to school either matters or it doesn’t. Schools, teachers and the Ministry of Education say that it does, and outcome/attendance data certainly supports that view. You would think then it would be all hands- on- deck to maximise students coming to school in these fractured times.
So, I have been somewhat stunned to hear from a range of families where schools have taken 12 or more teacher only days (TODs) this year. All children are marked present for these days which is, in effect, forced absenteeism. The TODs are also rarely coordinated so a working parent, with three children at different schools, could have had up to 36 days to revamp their lives for. I am hearing of working people who have used up all of their annual leave through the impact of TODs. Some schools retort that “they are not a baby-sitting service”. No one expects them to be – just that when schools are “open” and during term time children should be able to go and be well taught.
Add to that the full-on round of paid union meetings at present ...
Is it any wonder that so many children/families are seeing school as an option - not an imperative?
Alwyn Poole, a well-known figure in the New Zealand education system, he founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. This article was published HERE
Alwyn Poole, a well-known figure in the New Zealand education system, he founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. This article was published HERE
2 comments:
I'm with you - get with it teachers.
I find the attendance figures incredible. I recall only one or two primary students with such a record, and none in my stream at secondary. But then maori were so much in the minority they must have felt very lonely at school. I acheived above averaga at school but when forced home for a week very occasionally due severe colds, I found the set back quite daunting. I trust the teacher only days are not spent on the myriad pro maori courses put forward by the vast and fervently active Teaching Council staff..
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