Some students at K2 high school are at risk of not advancing to the next grade due to low attendance percentages while Lee cancels Summer School.
This year, Summit K2 will not be holding summer school. Lee stated, “I can’t say that I have to lay people off and pay people extra to work during the summer when it could cost a teacher.”
Students with a 72.5% state attendance or lower will be held back from advancing to the next grade. This is the first year that state attendance is being counted after the three previous years when attendance law was suspended due to COVID-19.
Lee said that many students are likely unaware of how severe the consequences of a poor attendance rate can be. She emphasizes that she wants to inform students on the issue but not threaten them with it. “We don’t wanna focus on the legal ramifications of things in a negative light because I don’t want to say to students, ‘Hey! You need to come to school because if you don’t, you could be arrested!’”
Students failing one class will take that class instead of their Self-Directed Learning (SDL) period next year, students failing two or more classes will have to retake the whole grade.
Admin have supported students in increasing their attendance and grades by holding PFA workshops, pulling students out of Expeditions for intervention classes, hiring tutors, offering office hours from 3:30-4:10, and creating programs such as Saturday school, which is a three-hour class run voluntarily by K2 admins.
To encourage students to attend school more regularly, Lee intends on instituting incentives such as fun field trips. These off-campus trips pull mentor groups with high attendance rates from school to enjoy venues such as Cerrito Vista Park, Pier 39, or even the Oakland Ice Center.
Similarly, she stated that if a grade level had commendable attendance rates, K2 could give them a “free day,” provided that the educational requirements have been met.
(Cover Photo Credit: Tenzin Kunsang)
