I attend a public high school and I missed a mid-year exam, which is worth 12% of my grade. I left a note for one of my Vice Principal the day class resumed, and for a month i was ignored. Two weeks after the initial note, i tried to go to the office to talk, and was told that my Vp had been (ironically) sick for some time and thats why she did not call me down. I asked if i could talk to my other Vice Principal, and when i was allowed to and explained my situation to him he just dismissed me and told me to wait for my other VP to return. Two weeks after that,and a month after the initial note, i went back to the office and was finally able to talk to my VP. She told me that although i was able to provide a doctors note for the exam date, and was sick for two weeks following the exam. My school has a policy that says that a parent must call before 9:15 on exam days if the student wants to be able to make it up, but this is one of the rules no one really cares about or pays attention to(which i know is not an excuse, but just a little background), My mother is very busy taking care of her other kids, and as one of the oldest, I’m very independent in regards to school. She also is not available before 9:15, as my youngest sister has to get on the bus around that time and she had to help get her, along with my younger brother, and herself ready for the day,and is not really preoccupied with her 17-year old honors student. When my VP asked me why i had waited so long to contact her when i told he of my various efforts, she replied with “oh, well” She had me read the section of the handbook out loud to her, which made me cry, but she wont let me stop reading, and them told me there was nothing i could do, before rushing out saying she had urgent business to attend, making no attempt to hear my side of the story, appease the situation or console me in anyway. All and all the meeting i had been seeking for over a month ended in 5 minutes and with me crying, and my GPA i worked my butt off all through out high school to achieve to suffer, all because i was legitimately sick and my mother did not make a phone call. I have already gotten into a few colleges and am awaiting the decision on a few more, and if this zero goes out in mid-year reports, there no chance of me being accepted. Also note i am an honors and AP student, and come from a poorer background, and literally have worked so hard in school to keep my grade up and out of school saving up for college. I am gong to write a formal letter/ complaint to the VP wondering if there is any legal precedence saying that i have to be able to make up the exam the overpowers the school policy. If not i was was wondering the best way to angle my argument.Them discriminating against poor students, or my VP bullying me, which according to my school handbook she was. Do you thing it infringes upon my right to an education/to learn? Where would one find legal precedents on the internet or would i have to go to a library? Also i had a cold which irritated my asthma, making it near impossible to breathe, could this be angled as discrimination against a handicap (my asthma)? PLEASE HELP ME!!!
Twelve percent deduction, for missing an exam, should not give you a zero. Unless you currently have a zero in all of your classes. Something doesn’t sound right.
Your parent doesn’t provide you with any sort of support? We parents were constantly told to call in illnesses immediately because state funding is linked to attendance.
As a parent, who always had to leave earlier than my kids, I had the job of waking up my kids. I knew immediately when they were ill and would call as soon as I could from home or work or they would be marked truant. The attendance line was 24 hours and if you were out the following day, your parent would have had to call as well. Does your mother not know your situation and have you not kept her in the loop?
The VPs are busy people at this time of year, crying about a grade does not look good. Getting angry and stating that they have to let you make up the exam sounds childish and immature. Being poor does not preclude you from reading and knowing the rules. The rule at your school is to call before 9:15 am. Your parent has to act on your behalf; not the other way around. College is even more strict about rules; will you act in the same manner?
It doesn’t sound like your mother knows what is going on. You need to loop her in.
Don’t make up claims when they are not true and you know it. Ask you mother to intervene.
Shouldn’t you be talking to the teacher instead of the VP? If you’re a good student, actively participate in class, and show high character than I don’t see why the teacher wouldn’t let you make it up. It seems a little strange that you went straight to the VP instead of e-mailing your teacher right away.
FWIW, mid year reports at my kids school do not include results of midterm exams. They only have first semester grades. If yours is similar then maybe your colleges won’t see it. Just make sure you bring the grade up to passing by the end of the year.
I realize this is in the past but its hard to see how neither you nor your mother were aware that you needed to call in sick if you were going to miss the exam. It takes 30 seconds to call the school attendance line and leave a message. Its hard for anyone to believe that your mother was too busy to do this, which is why you are probably getting no sympathy from the school. From their point of view, it seems like you skipped the midterm, with no excuse, and want a makeup now after you realize what it has done to your grade. I think you just need to move on. The policy was clear and you didn’t follow it. This has nothing to do with discrimination against poor kids or asthma.
Check district guidelines on call-in time for medical reasons. Perhaps the teacher/school isn’t following the guidelines directed by the district?
“All and all the meeting i had been seeking for over a month ended in 5 minutes and with me crying, and my GPA i worked my butt off all through out high school to achieve to suffer, all because i was legitimately sick and my mother did not make a phone call.”
It is past time to get your mom (and dad if he’s part of your life) in on the action. One month for my kid to talk with the administration about a should-have-been-excused absence? I would have torn down the door of the principal’s office long before that.
Without your parent(s) stepping up to the plate, it isn’t likely that anything can be done at this point. If your parent(s) do step up and produce the medical documentation, maybe something can be done.