Berkeley Parents Network: Cutting Classes at BHS

Berkeley Parents Network

Cutting Classes at BHS

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > Berkeley Public Schools > Berkeley High School > Cutting Classes at BHS

My sophomore is cutting 5-6 classes a week

December 2000

I am a father of a sophomore who has recently discovered he can cut selected classes with impunity. He has heretofore been a student with a very good attendance record and high academic performance. Over the last two months we have just discovered he has an average of five to six class cuts per week. His response, I just cut classes I can't stand and are fairly useless and where the grade is not effected by absences. We would not have known had the BHS not just recently reactivated their absence phone call system. There apparently is no real consequence to cutting some classes and the school doesn't seem to have any procedure for truancy offenses. I am interested in other parents' reactions and experiences with this problem. Is this just another example of the BHS "soft anarchy" we've heard about? Does anyone have a suggestion for the best administrative person to talk with about this? It's tough holding the line as a parent with the school being so uninvolved with the truancy issue.

Regarding the truancy policy at BHS, I find it to be a strong interventional program. We were informed of our child "cutting classes" and, at the same time, the school obliged him to attend detention. While in detention, he was asked to write on the consequences of his behavior.

I think this BHS, despite being stretched with regard to resources it has, is making a strong effort and statement, not only to inform parents of problems with a student's behavior, but also to let students know what is considered responsible behavior and the consequences of other choices with regard to their actions.

I would suggest that you support the stance BHS has taken with regard to truancy. If you don't like the program, work to change it. In the 7 years I have had children at BHS, I have never met a teacher or administrator who has not been receptive to discussing problems or appreciative of suggestions, this year especially. Ask to help or volunteer and this school becomes a totally different experience from the perspective of a parent. Anonymous

Unfortunately, I have found out the hard way that BHS does not deal at all with truancy. Yes, you get a recorded phone message when your child has been absent from a class but that is it. Truancy is a problem that you, as a parent, have to deal with directly with your child and his/her counselor and teachers. But, ultimately, the problem has to be resolved between you and your child. The consequence is that with too many tardies and absences your child may fail their class(es), especially if they are not good students to begin with. Do not expect BHS to do anything except give you an attendance print out. You can ask the Attendance Office for this and then confront your child. I have found that many of the techers will help try to get your child back on track by trying to keep in contact with the student and parent but you need to get involved RIGHT AWAY. BHS is a great school for kids that are self-motivated, good students, and responsible but for a child that has tendencies to get sidetracked with other issues (drugs, alcohol, hanging out, etc.), it can be deadly. If truancy persists, you may want to consider another school, Alternative High School, Independent Studies, etc. If I could turn back the clock, I would have enrolled my son in a smaller, private school from the 9th grade, as I think it would have worked out best for him. The truancy problems began in his sophmore year but I think he needed our intervention in the 9th grade. Don't blame the school; it will not get you far to do this. Instead, connect with your son and his teachers and see if you can resolve things early. After a semester of intervention with his teachers and counselor to no avail, we decided to switch to Independent Studies this year and things are much better, and he wishes we had done this sooner. Good luck.

I have found the Attendance Office Person, I can't recall her name, to be quite helpful. I received a call when my son cut one afternoon. We had a frank discussion and my son was immediately signed up for detention the next day. Perhaps she knew me only by name, because since my son began BHS in Fall 1999, I had religiously and immediately called that office to clear all absences and medical appts. (In addition, my son always asked to make up missed classrm. and homework assignments.) In retrospect, when I received the call from the attendance office, I had realized that what my son had told me about his afternoon had not made complete sense in terms of what he had said he had done in such a short amt. of time after school. As a parent it's important to listen to your kids w/your ears open. Also look at the absences that are recorded on the progress reports that are sent home. A parent should eas! ! ily be able to figure out roughly the number of absences (field trips, medical appts., illness) over a grading period. Again, I'm assuming the teachers are keeping careful attendance. I know for my son attendance and frequently, tardiness figures into his grade for several of his classes. Lastly, I think it's important to share w/our kids that unexcused absences cost BHS in lost attendance money from the state. In summary, you can't just look at BHS to solve/ deal with the truancy problem. Anonymous

When my daughter was a sophmore she discovered "cutting" and also did it with impunity. Her excuse was "the teacher marked me absent" "I was late and we had a sub" "the teacher never showed up." Most of the time she went to Mels or Lock Stock and ate food with other people were cutting. I got fed up and went to the attendance office. They were able to print out a report which showed a breakdown of tardies and absences on a period to period basis for a number of months. All in all she had missed about 40 hours of class time in a semester. I told her she owed 40 hours of community service and had her clean animal cages at a local animal lab for 6 months every weekend to make up for all those bad teachers who didn't know how to take attendance. Needless to say, she cut about 2 times in her junior and senior year. Sign me, Anonymous

BHS was very responsive to my daughter's severe problem with cutting class at BHS. I spoke with Donna McKinney in the Attendance Office. She set up an appointment with me, my husband and my daughter. It was great. At a time when my husband and I were seen as the 'bad' guys in so many of the interactions with our daughter, we appreciated Ms. McKinney playing that role on the attendance score. She read my daughter the riot act, told her she had to have every teacher sign off on a form every period of every day. The form had to be turned in on Friday afternoons. If there were unexcused absences, my daughter had to get to the Attendance office for detention at 7AM! After this, either she had a pretty good attendance record or she got much more savvy in cutting without us knowing. In any case, she got back on track and is now in college.

October 2000

I'm the parent of a Berkeley High School freshman and I have occasion to be in the neighborhood of the high school many mornings during the week. When I'm leaving my morning appointment, between 10 and 11 am, there is generally a group or two of high school age youngsters (5 to 10 in a a group) congregating in one place or another within a half block of the BHS campus. I find myself wondering: who are these young people?; are they enrolled at BHS?; why aren't they on campus, if not in class?; why is there no one patrolling the area around the school to insure that students are where they are supposed to be? If these teenagers are, in fact, BHS students, they appear to be missing out on a substantial portion of their education by loitering in the streets. I'm baffled as to why this isn't being addressed by someone in a position of authority. I can't be the only adult/parent who has seen these groups of kids. Can someone offer an explanation? Anonymous

Having cause to be at BHS repeatedly the first month of school for meetings from 8-9 a.m., I noticed as I left a group of nice-looking girls leave campus, walk down Bancroft and sit on Berkwood-Hedge's Elementary School's front steps smoking marijuana. A loss for the kids who are out of it before 2nd period even begins, and probably not pleasing to parents/teachers of the elementary school kids. Anonymous

Suggestion for Curbing Tardiness @ BHS

My daughter attends high school at Armijo High in Fairfield. The campus covers 64 acres of land. The passing period for Armijo is 8 minutes. At the end of the passing period, the teachers close their classroom doors. Late students who do not have hall passes are directed to the "Tardy Tank". Each period a different classroom/area is designated for the Tardy Tank. The student receives an unexcused absence from the class in which he/she is late. If a student is consistently late, it will result in suspension (3-day, 5-day), Saturday School, or referral to the truancy officer/program. Teachers take role everyday in every class. Students are not given this responsibility. Tardy Tank is run by teachers, principle, site supervisors, etc. and role is also taken in Tardy Tank to account for each student. If a student does not report to tardy tank, when late, they are immediately referred to the on-site truant officer for further action. If a student reports to Tardy Tank 30 minutes late, they are directed to the counselors' office or the truant officer. If this same student appears in another class that day but did not report to Tardy Tank in previous periods and there were no scheduled doctors' appointments, that student could be suspended from school. Students cannot arrive on campus late without reporting to the attendance office with a parent/guardian or a doctor's slip. This school, ironically has an open campus during the lunch period (38 minutes), but they are seriously rethinking this issue at this moment.

Students that drive to campus, must purchase and display parking permits. Beginning this year, students were assigned designated parking. During the first period, a site supervisor checks the lot for attendance. After lunch the lot is checked again to ensure that student drivers have returned. If a car is checked in during the morning role and does not show up in the afternoon, the student's class attendance is checked, as well as Tardy Tank. If that student is not present, he/she is considered truant and the issue is pursued from there.

Both high schools in Fairfield, have a high police visibility in and around the campus. At Armijo they have hired staff called site supervisors who are paid to monitor the school grounds whenever there are school related classes/functions taking place. In addition to that, each school has a sworn police officer assigned to the high school to take care of more serious problems such as theft, vandalism, violence and other arrestable offenses.

Armijo and Fairfield High Schools each have approximately 3000 students at each school. I'm not sure how this school's size relates to that of BHS but perhaps some rules from Armijo can be beneficial to Berkeley. There are some serious drawbacks to having a high police presence at school, especially as it relates to students of color, but there has to be some solution that works so that our public schools are places of learning where students feel safe, not incarcerated. There has to be some viable middle ground. That's my two cents worth. Kimberly

Today, for the second time, I reported to the Berkeley Police Dept. and Berkeley High that there are groups of high school age youngsters frequently loitering on the stairs at the Kittredge St. garage between 10-11 am. These young people are smoking dope and blocking passage of garage patrons to access their cars. The garage attendant said she calls the police daily. The police said they'll send a patrol around to check and perhaps station someone nearby. The high school's response was "maybe they have a free period". WHAT?! When I reminded the woman who answered the phone at the high school that students are not permitted off campus during free periods, she said "really? I didn't know that." She then suggested I speak with the security office. The gentleman I spoke with in security said his people check reported incidents; there are 6 on his staff to cover 17+ acres of campus; and they are doing the best they can. He then asked if I'd like to volunteer to keep the campus secure. All this was communicated with an air of hostility and annoyance and not what I, as a parent of a BHS student, expect or want to experience from staff of the BUSD. I am attempting to express to these organizations my concern with the education these young people are missing due to a combination of truancy, drugs and lack of a coordinated enough effort by the bureacracies involved to keep them in school. There's got to be some way to see that students who are enrolled at the high school are where they're supposed to be during the day and not loitering in public areas, breaking the law, harming themselves and creating a public nuisance. I expect to be able to call my child's school and speak with someone knowledgeable about school procedures. And, as a parent and concerned citizen, I also deserve respect, if not appreciation, from the security staff we hire to protect our students. Once again, I'm dismayed by Berkeley High's response to what I see as a critical situation.

It is true, according to my daughter, that students who are not in a class are not allowed on the campus during class time. This includes the library. I can understand the supervision problem that the school is dealing with, but I don't think it's fair to the city--or the students--to kick them off the campus if they happen not to have a 3rd period, or arrive early for their first class, which might be a 2nd period.

Also, since students can only be in the library when they are in class, I haven't figured out when students can use the library. Do they have to wait until their teacher takes the whole class? Again, I understand the supervision problem (30 years ago I was nearly raped in the BHS library). Can't the staff come up with a better solution so the library can actually be a usable space for the students?

Anonymous

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.