Last year, skipping class went without punishment, but now things have changed. Missing 13 days of class in a semester will earn one a failing grade. Another major change is instead of work habits, we have Core Values.

The new attendance policies aren’t all that bad for students, though. There are excused absences. According to the student handbook, those include: doctor’s notes, documented court appearances and college visits, hospitalization or homebound situations, and finally school sponsored activities. Absences that aren’t allowed include skipping, or parents calling in. The reason for these policies are simple. There were over 8,000 unexcused absences last year, and the administration decided that something needed to be done. 

Work habits measured how often one participated in class, and how often homework was completed. However, core values measures what is called the 6 C’s. The 6 C’s are Character, Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. Character and Citizenship measure one’s integrity, perseverance, and work ethic. Collaboration and Communication measure how well you work with others, while Creativity and Critical Thinking measure one’s problem solving skills and originality.

Work habits, on the other hand, only measured how much one completed their homework and participated in class. It was harder to get a good measure of a person’s character only looking at those two characteristics. Core Values, however, measure a much greater scale of a person’s work ethic and character. It offers a better portrait of a person, through emphasizing the person’s work ethic. While work habits could only lower your grade, core values has a chance to raise it. If one earns a C on an outcome assessment and an A in core values, they will earn a B for the outcome. This creates an incentive to get a high Core Values grade.

When asked about core values, BBCHS social science teacher Dave Fiscus stated, “Core values helps you be better prepared for your future. You can’t just show up for a job and only do what’s required.” With work habits, that’s all that mattered. If you showed up and did your homework, you did relatively well. With Core Values, it isn’t that simple. You are measured on how well you interact with others, your integrity, and your problem solving. Those three characteristics will help you much more in the future than just showing up and doing what you have to do.

These are some of the big policy changes this year, and they have a big impact on everyone. They are aimed at helping everyone get good grades and improving as a person. While the effectiveness remains to be seen, It will hopefully be a big benefit to everyone both now and in the future.