Image from: State of California Department of Justice
As the school year comes to a close, it isn’t unusual for high schools to see their senior students less and less. “It has always been like that,” says Principal Bob Moran, who has been in charge of Washington for 12 years. “They’re close to graduation, and many can keep up their grades even though their attendance could be better. They know they’re on track to graduate, so they just take this time for themselves.”
Although skipping classes can be seen as a win for seniors at Washington High School because they can avoid heavy school work, the attendance clerks are left with more to do. Ms. Dangi, one of the attendance clerks at Washington, has worked here for four years and often feels overwhelmed by the workload during the second semester. “It is especially hard when students constantly come in and out,” she says. “Sometimes, the student’s parents will call them out for the whole day, but then the student just shows up saying, ‘No, I’m feeling fine. I wanna be back in school.’ They do this for one period, two periods, or just one period in the middle of the day and then sign out again saying, ‘I don’t feel well at all again.’ So, they’re here just for a test or some other important classwork.”
Poor attendance raises other concerns for schools because “your grades are at risk. The brain is a muscle. And if you don’t use it, it does atrophy. We see that from summer to first quarter. It takes kids a while to get going, and if you take a break now and summer vacation, you’re putting yourself in a deficit state,” says Mr. Moran. “Bad attendance can also really affect the school funding wise. Unexcused absences are not funded. So we want to ensure we do get the proper funding from the state for our students.”
But is senior attendance at Washington all that bad? For some, it feels like WHS staff complain about it every year, and every year, there are talks about revoking some senior events such as Homecoming or Prom to encourage better attendance. In reality, senior attendance hasn’t worsened significantly over the years. In fact, the WHS class of 2025 so far has had better attendance compared to the WHS class of 2024. “I think when we are in the moment with a particular senior class, we always say they have the worst attendance, but in reality, they’re better than the previous seniors,” says Mr. Moran. While it is true that there are discussions for revoking senior events, there has never been a case where an entire senior class was unable to participate. “It’s all based on an individual’s behavior, and they might lose a privilege. But never an entire class.”
While staff have proposed many other solutions for senior attendance issues, most students are skeptical. Shruti Vupalapati, a senior at Washington says, “I have worked hard for four years already, and it’s already the second semester. Even some teachers aren’t committed to teaching seniors because we are already set to leave. I feel like seniors skipping is inevitable. You can’t do much about it. Just let the seniors be happy in their last days at Washington because it’s more memorable that way.”
Eunice Yang is a senior at Washington High School and grew up in Fremont. She may be new to journalism but is interested in writing articles highlighting Fremont's diverse community in the features section of The Hatchet. In her free time, Eunice crochets and knits while watching her favorite T.V. show Brooklyn 99. She even enjoys baking muffins and cookies for her family and friends. When it comes to future plans, Eunice wants to be a nurse to continue making her community a better place.