Thomas Jefferson High School has new goals for the attendance.
Seniors raise hands in response to teacher calling roll. Photo by Mia Nogueira
The administration at Thomas Jefferson High School has raised the attendance goals for the 2010 – 2011 school year, trying to boost the amount of students attending classes to further pursue college dreams.
“Compared to last year’s attendance goals, the new goals blow them out of the water,” said Assistant Principal Scott Lessard. Instead of the school trying to reach an overall 92%, which was successfully done last year, TJ is now pushing for 95% attendance. “Poor attendance has a major impact on student achievement, and here at Thomas Jefferson we are always striving to get better achievement from the students,” explains Lessard.
The TJ administration wants the students to be attending classes regularly. “With a 95% attendance goal, that would be about a student missing class once every two weeks. By setting a high goal, we hope to influence the thought process of the student body and the school,” said Lessard. The attendance is given out in a two-week period through the Spartan Edition, and for the first two weeks of school, TJ has an overall attendance of 92.98%, with the freshmen at 92.35%, the sophomores at 92.31%, the juniors are leading the pack at 93.92%, and the seniors are close behind at 93.91%.
Teachers at Thomas Jefferson High School are ready for the new changes. “It is an admirable goal and one that is certainly attainable by TJ. Indubitably it will benefit the students in class,” said English Language Teacher Jeff Almond.
With the new attendance ratings, seniors are bound to go to class more, and not feel the effects of Senioritus, as senior Casey Edelman states, “I think it is great because the CSAP goals might rise as more people attend their class, and I know when I attend classes, I feel more knowledgeable.”
With the attendance at a 92.98% already, the administration feels that 95% looks attainable. The attendance has already passed last year’s goal of 92%.
