Seven days. That is the number of absences students in all grades alike are allowed before administration issues a notice that must be appealed; however, in recent years, Etowah High School seniors have begun to ignore these warnings and are now taking senior skip days to a whole new level.
While they are an unofficial school tradition, senior skip days have existed since the very first high school was built; however, despite beginning as merely one big day a year in which seniors coordinated to skip school and go out to have fun together, they have transformed into an almost weekly excuse for seniors to stay home and miss their classes. With skip days designated now after every break, extended weekend, or special holiday, students have certainly used the senior skip day title to their advantage.
“I attend the major skip days, like the one after Halloween, but the small ones I do not really participate in them,” Kirsten Effner, senior, said.
Though many seniors are enjoying their numerous days off from the stress of their final year of high school, others are having difficulty even participating in each skip day event, as they have begun to approach their seven-day limit on absences. Some have already surpassed this number and will thus face the consequences in December during the appeals process in which they will have to argue their case for why they missed. With students excited to experience every part of their senior year, it is often difficult to choose between a good attendance record and an outing with friends.
“I will go to a couple of the senior skip days, but I do not want to go to all of them because I do not want to just completely disregard school. I need to graduate and keep up Hope and Zell, so I cannot go to all of them because there [are] a lot,” Isabel Springer, senior, said.
Despite the happiness these days bring to their students, Etowah teachers are expressing their irritation over the excessive skipping. Often, they have had to drastically alter lessons and push back test dates to accommodate the mass amounts of students missing from their classes. As these classes are often filled with junior students, their instruction is thus also pushed back, despite them not getting to enjoy the same luxuries of senior skip days.
“While I understand the attraction of [senior skip days], we also know there is a direct relationship between regular attendance and academic performance. As a teacher, I feel that loss of momentum when a large number of students miss my class, and it can take a couple of days to get everyone back on track,” John Murnan, Etowah biology teacher, said.
While Etowah administrators cannot technically regulate senior skip days due to them being unofficial and not administered by the school, there is a dangerous possibility that students may begin to be punished for the absences if they are dictated with the skip day title.
“I personally like senior skip days. It gives me a valid reason to make my week shorter,” Scott Freudenberg, senior, said.
Etowah has not officially warned seniors, but if this trend continues, they may just lose the tradition many have been waiting for since freshman year.
