Remarks to the Macon BOE July 22, 2024
Thank you Mr. Chairman, members of the Board, Mr. Lynch.
Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight to address a particular part of a particular agenda item - part K of the agenda, section #7 which deals with proposed changes to the Franklin High School student handbook which involves tightening the FHS absence policy. We are finally pushing for, as a school, the end of unlimited absences and still being able to receive credit for a course.
Our absence policy, in place for at least 20 years, is destructive to our mission to challenge students, to develop character and accountability. By enabling excessive absences, we encourage students to live down rather than rise up. We encourage otherwise great students to join the ranks of the chronically truant.
Beyond the destructiveness to academic and character education for our students, we create pointless burdens for teachers and administrators as we and they have to track which students have “made up time” in “learning centers.” And I put “made up time” and “learning centers” in quotes Mr chairman because our learning centers don’t have an academic focus because they can’t. Having 30 students in a room from multiple courses can’t be properly proctored and assisted. So, they watch videos and listen to music or engage in other non-academic pursuits because that’s what unchallenged and unaccountable teenagers tend to do. We had one student alone attend 40 learning centers. Over 40 students have missed over 20 days per class and still have received credit.
Beyond the destructiveness to the students, the faculty, the administration, is the destructiveness to the Macon County taxpayer.
We have spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years on this flawed policy, paying teachers for a farce, a charade.
And it turns my teacher stomach and my fiscally conservative stomach. Because I look at every dollar that we spend that has no meaningful return on investment and wonder, “What if we spent those scarce dollars on another teacher or teacher assistant?” — that is the way I look at every single dollar Macon County Schools spends, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, if this argument sounds familiar, it should. Fifteen years ago this September, four veteran teachers from Franklin High, including myself, approached you and the Board at the time at a meeting at Highlands School. We sounded the alarm bell that evening and described in detail the consequences for the students, faculty, administration, and taxpayers at that meeting. I have the Franklin Press article with me with all the details.
You said you agreed with our concerns. You directed Superintendent Brigman to develop a change in policy. We met the following month, October, in this very room.
But instead of confronting the absence policy and taking a chance that it might negatively impact our graduation rate and dropout rate, Dr. Brigman spent several more thousand dollars on hiring an outside consultant, Robert Lynn Canady, to rework the schedules of our K-4 schools.
So, two negative outcomes of the October 2009 meeting — you failed to confront the destructive absence policy at FHS AND we created a new schedule for our K-4 schools which was a disaster and had to be scrapped.
Mr. Chairman, I’m asking you this evening, after almost 15 years, to support the proposed absence policy for the new FHS student handbook which I believe makes sense for our students, faculty, administration, and the taxpayers of Macon County.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight to address a particular part of a particular agenda item - part K of the agenda, section #7 which deals with proposed changes to the Franklin High School student handbook which involves tightening the FHS absence policy. We are finally pushing for, as a school, the end of unlimited absences and still being able to receive credit for a course.
Our absence policy, in place for at least 20 years, is destructive to our mission to challenge students, to develop character and accountability. By enabling excessive absences, we encourage students to live down rather than rise up. We encourage otherwise great students to join the ranks of the chronically truant.
Beyond the destructiveness to academic and character education for our students, we create pointless burdens for teachers and administrators as we and they have to track which students have “made up time” in “learning centers.” And I put “made up time” and “learning centers” in quotes Mr chairman because our learning centers don’t have an academic focus because they can’t. Having 30 students in a room from multiple courses can’t be properly proctored and assisted. So, they watch videos and listen to music or engage in other non-academic pursuits because that’s what unchallenged and unaccountable teenagers tend to do. We had one student alone attend 40 learning centers. Over 40 students have missed over 20 days per class and still have received credit.
Beyond the destructiveness to the students, the faculty, the administration, is the destructiveness to the Macon County taxpayer.
We have spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years on this flawed policy, paying teachers for a farce, a charade.
And it turns my teacher stomach and my fiscally conservative stomach. Because I look at every dollar that we spend that has no meaningful return on investment and wonder, “What if we spent those scarce dollars on another teacher or teacher assistant?” — that is the way I look at every single dollar Macon County Schools spends, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, if this argument sounds familiar, it should. Fifteen years ago this September, four veteran teachers from Franklin High, including myself, approached you and the Board at the time at a meeting at Highlands School. We sounded the alarm bell that evening and described in detail the consequences for the students, faculty, administration, and taxpayers at that meeting. I have the Franklin Press article with me with all the details.
You said you agreed with our concerns. You directed Superintendent Brigman to develop a change in policy. We met the following month, October, in this very room.
But instead of confronting the absence policy and taking a chance that it might negatively impact our graduation rate and dropout rate, Dr. Brigman spent several more thousand dollars on hiring an outside consultant, Robert Lynn Canady, to rework the schedules of our K-4 schools.
So, two negative outcomes of the October 2009 meeting — you failed to confront the destructive absence policy at FHS AND we created a new schedule for our K-4 schools which was a disaster and had to be scrapped.
Mr. Chairman, I’m asking you this evening, after almost 15 years, to support the proposed absence policy for the new FHS student handbook which I believe makes sense for our students, faculty, administration, and the taxpayers of Macon County.
Thank you.