William Albury

As a student who must adhere to uncompromising attendance policies, I often have to ask myself: “Am I really sick enough to stay home?” With a strict 10-20 rule in place, I cannot afford to miss days without fearing the consequences, especially as a senior.

Miami Palmetto Senior High enforces a strict 10 absence and 20 tardy rule. If a student misses more than 10 school days or is tardy to school more than 20 times, they will face repercussions for surpassing the limits. For seniors, this means missing out on senior activities — Grad Bash, prom and much more.

On the days I am not quite “sick enough” to stay home, my coughs or sneezes in class often provoke the same blanket statement from teachers: “If you guys are sick, you should really stay home.” What I wish I could say every time is “if I could, I would.” 

The rule is entirely ironic too. If you went to the doctor for a sick visit they would all most likely say something along the lines of “Stay rested and well hydrated,” yet my school’s policies force me to do the opposite. I feel guilty for coming to class and spreading illness to my classmates and teachers. Every cough and sneeze breaking the silence is a reminder that I am not doing the responsible thing.

On some days, I find myself sitting in my first-block class, counting down the minutes until 9:20 a.m., where I rush downstairs to the attendance office and anxiously await getting signed out, all to experience the relief of not being within school walls while I feel horrible.

Not to mention that, as a senior with a rigorous and competitive course load, several extracurricular obligations, a job, college applications and volunteer commitments, life can be overwhelming. When I and other students find ourselves drowning in our to-do lists, sometimes all we need is a break. There are often weekends where I have several deadlines to meet, tests to study for and shifts to work. The coming Monday may be the one day that I just need some extra time to recuperate. Sleeping in or taking a “mental health day” is not quite an option with these grueling rules.

I often find myself dreaming up a perfect weekend escape — the ultimate and much-deserved mental break that many students often desire. I look at flights and hotels — creating my ideal itinerary. Yet this always seems to lead to the same sentence I have repeated over and over again: “Nope, I cannot miss school.” I want to be able to have a change of setting and take a break from school, but the 10-20 rule does not allow me to do so. Aside from that, being a teenager is not all about trapping yourself in the four walls of school — immersing yourself in different experiences is what helps us become well-rounded individuals.

In our junior and senior years, we are taught to begin thinking about which colleges we want to go to — but what happens when we get in? As a senior who has applied to 15 colleges, I am dreading the day I have to visit these schools to decide where I will go. Scheduling visits on the weekends without having to miss school days will be nearly out of the question.

As someone who has shouldered family obligations and faced several family deaths during my high school years, there is not much time to sacrifice for grieving or helping your family under this policy.

Schools seem to look past these little things — despite their significance to students — ultimately chasing after attendance statistics, rather than putting the overall emotional and physical well-being of students first. Schools implementing attendance policies like the 10-20 rule do not contribute to their student body’s academic success in the way those who put them in place thought they would, they deteriorate their students’ mental and physical health.

In the tight confines of MPSH’s 10-20 rule, the battle for students’ well-being and health is intense.