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We had comments on an earlier post, “What’s AYP anyway?” where parents expressed frustration with teacher absenteeism in our schools. Obviously, children learn better with consistent, high-quality instruction. Since the schools began tracking it, there is heightened awareness of teacher attendance, particularly around long weekends, and it is an issue we continue to monitor. That said, an August 2005 report concluded that 49% of teachers used up to six sick days and 10% had either perfect attendance or used only one sick day. Most teachers attend school, but there will always be some who exploit the system, and that’s why tracking the data is important. If you are concerned about the number of substitute teachers in your child’s classes, contact your principal. Also, below is Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Sue Mulligan’s response:

“School staff absenteeism is of great concern to us all. Teachers must be present for students to receive consistency of instruction. We monitor trends in staff absenteeism closely. Since we began looking into teacher absenteeism, we have noticed yearly incremental improvement in teacher attendance:

• 2002-2003=96% attendance rate
• 2003-2004=96.6%
• 2004-2005=96.9%
• 2005-2006=97%
• 2006-2007=96.9%