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It seems that my daughter, Jodie has an absenteeism problem. At
least the vice principal of her school sees it as a problem and feels
compelled to make me aware of it just in case I am absolutely clueless.
For the record, Jodie is not truant. All twenty-two days of absences
this school year are excused due to illness and/or doctor appointments.
But, according to the vice-principal, they are too many and therefore
will endanger my daughter’s academic performance and her passing the
eighth grade.

What?

Back when Jodie and I took our meningococcal meningitis vacation at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center,
the infectious disease doc warned us that we both were likely to more
vulnerable than usual to infectious diseases during the next months.
His warning proved to be right as she and I both have had more than our
fair share of colds, sinus infections and flu this past year. The kid
got sick a lot this year so what was I supposed to do…send her to
school sick? I know the schools place a high premium on the kids who
have perfect attendance throughout the academic year but frankly I
don’t like the idea of them rewarding this feat. Some of these kids
with perfect attendance show up to school sick and share their sickie
germs all over the place. My kids’ education is important, very
important, but I’m the kind of mom who will keep my kids home if they
are sick, period.

But in spite of Jodie missing 22 days out of this school year she
has somehow managed to maintain her usual straight A’s…oh wait, she did
get a B+ in Science during the first trimester grading period and a B+
in Algebra during the second trimester grading period. I blamed it on
the fact that she is a normal teenage girl who enjoys normal young
teenage girl things like clothes, hair, cute boys (although she claims
she has no time for boys), hanging out with her besties, Team Jacob,
Justin Bieber and whatever else out there that 13 to 14 year old girls
are into. She also took on an extra course at the high school, even
though she is still in the eighth grade and is doing great in that too.
Oh, and, let’s not forget that this over-achieving girl of mine
is passionate about dance. If I would let her, she would be dancing
24/7. All that going on in this kid’s life and she still manages to
bring home high honor roll awards consistently. Can you imagine what
she would have done if she hadn’t missed those 22 days of school? I bet
she would have that vice-principal’s job, and she would likely do a
better job than he does. At least she would take the time to check ALL
the facts before contacting parents like me 23 days before eighth grade
graduation. The proficiency exams, that the vice principal worried my
child might not be able to pass due to her excessive absences due to
illness, have ALL been completed and passed with flying colors by
Jodie. She passed the last exam in March, one month before the vice
principal wrote his warning letter to us. Not bad, not bad at all for a
kid with a worrisome attendance problem.

Poor Mr. Vice Principal! All that worrying he was doing over Jodie
and her performance in school. Don’t worry. I let him know today that
this kid is alright.