A Canvas announcement on Monday afternoon alerted students that, in addition to those on the No Privileges List, students with 16 or more unexcused class period absences since March 17 will not be able to attend Prom. This includes students who have already purchased tickets, which are $135 per person.
Hello bears!
As Prom is fast approaching, the AVP office would like to remind you that this is your last week to make up any unserved detention, community service or Saturday school hours. Furthermore, we will continue to monitor attendance up to Prom. Beginning March 17th, any absences exceeding 16 or more will make you ineligible to attend Prom, even if you have already purchased a ticket. Staff will be checking attendance at the door.
Please check-in at the AVP office so we can arrange for you to fulfill your hours.
— M-A Administration
With Prom just days away, many students felt blindsided by the announcement. “I do not think the Canvas announcement is fair at all,” senior Liam Gallo said. “I think the rule is fair, but it should have been communicated and sent out to students earlier.”
“This is technically the rule for all school events. It’s what’s in our Student Handbook,” Administrative Vice Principal Elaine Rivera-Rios said. Though the handbook does say students with multiple unexcused absences cannot attend dances, it does not specify a number, nor does it explain how and if tardies are counted.
In previous years, administration has been less strict about enforcing these policies. “As the year has unfolded, we’ve seen a lot of kids in the hallways,” Rios explained. “Students take longer to get to class, even if we tell them. We are just trying to be consistent this year about attendance, and we have been.”
Students with unserved detention or community service are placed on M-A’s No Privileges List and barred from attending school events like Prom. Detentions can be assigned for excessive unexcused absences or tardiness, or for behavioral issues.
Though administration sent a warning email to students on the No Privileges List, not all students with 16 or more unexcused absences are on the list. Students who didn’t receive an email from administration can check their absences on Infinite Campus or ask an AVP secretary. “There may be a handful of them, but they’ve come in to check,” Rios said. “It could be nice for next year, since this is a system that we want to continue, to email students with 16 or more absences the same way that we do for the No Privileges List.”
Gallo explained that the administration’s messaging has been unclear at times, especially for students not on the No Privileges List. “Sometimes when they count for me, they say I have 11 absences and other times 13, which is very confusing and I never know what is true,” he said. “One of my friends had a meeting with Ms. De Seta, and she confirmed that the rule does not affect his Prom attendance. Yet, she is still informing students who haven’t directly spoken to her of the rule, which is very unfair and prevents many students from attending Prom. If a rule is made, it should apply to all students and not change from student to student.”
For students who bought tickets and later found out they were ineligible to attend Prom, Rios said the administration worked with Leadership to provide refunds, though this was not announced to all students.
“We have had to deal with multiple students who originally were not able to go to Prom, and then we had them buy a ticket later once they were able to clear that problem,” senior and Leadership student Addy McCombs said.
“Our No Privileges List gets funneled through the Prom purchasing interface that Leadership uses,” Rios said. “If a student on the list tries to go buy a ticket, they will come up as blocked.”
“Leadership cannot check individual absences or specific people that the administration has put in,” McCombs explained. “If a student is not allowed to attend Prom based off of the list, they will not be able to buy a ticket through the system, and there will be a red sign.”
Rios emphasized that students currently unable to attend Prom can talk to AVPs to learn how they can make up for missing class. This could mean serving detention, doing community service, making up work in the library or homework center, or working in the office as an assistant. “We’re not trying to gatekeep Prom. We want everybody to go, but we also want to send the message that you are responsible and need to be held accountable for the time that you’re missing in class,” she said.
“I think that people are making sure that they have less than the problematic amount of absences, and I do not think it has affected ticket sales,” McCombs said. “Most people who originally were not able to buy a ticket have been able to find a workaround.”
“I know around Prom, it becomes a little bit hectic, but if students are in class and being responsible for getting to class on time, then they should get to Prom season,” Rios said.
