Karla's Kolumn

The Worland school district is focusing on attendance as a way to help prevent students from dropping out of school. They are looking at rewarding good attendance as an incentive.

Promoting attendance at all ages is a good thing, but especially at the high school level where students need to plan for the “real world.”

I was one of those students who had perfect attendance in school. I hated to miss school. Yes, I was a bookworm and enjoyed learning, for the most part. I also hated missing school because make-up homework or make-up tests always seemed harder than the original.

I was one of those college students who actually attended my classes and rarely skipped. I do remember skipping out on a history class in order to get an earlier start headed home for Thanksgiving break. But, I didn’t just skip, I went to the professor and discussed it with him, finding out what I’d miss, how I might get the notes from that day, etc.

In my 26-year journalism career I can probably count the number of “sick” days I’ve taken on one hand. That doesn’t mean I haven’t missed for bereavement leave or vacation, but to call in sick, I just don’t do it. If I call in sick, I’m really sick. I will admit there are times when I have been sick and probably should have stayed home rather than come to work to share germs with everyone.

But, what I’m talking about, and what the school district, I believe, is trying to address is chronic absenteeism, absence without excuses.

In my 26 years and most recently the past six as an editor I have realized not everyone has a strong work ethic.

I have a friend who works in Powell and she has told me one of her co-workers calls in sick a lot, usually after her scheduled time off. Our theory … no one is that sick.

I had one employee in Basin who once just never showed up, never called. She quit before I had a chance to let her go. I believe in second chances but when you can no longer depend on an employee to be at work or be at work on time, then there are consequences and one of those consequences is called unemployment.

I had someone tell me years ago he looks at attendance and other factors in a person’s transcript, more than grades. Attendance tells you about a person’s work ethic and for employers that tells them a lot.

Former Xerox chairperson and CEO Anne M. Mulcahy said (according to Brainy Quote), I have zero tolerance for people who don’t come completely prepared. I expect contribution, I expect attendance.”

Attendance at work shows that your work is important to you; that your fellow employees are important to you and they can depend you. It says you don’t want to disrespect them or put them in a difficult spot by not showing up.

Usually in a workplace, and it’s no different in the newspaper business, if someone is gone it means someone else, who has his/her own job to do, then has to complete added duties to complete the tasks assigned for the person.

When I took a few days of vacation earlier this month, I spread out my duties over three employees to try and help ease the burden. It was planned time off so everyone could plan their schedules accordingly.

Attendance in school, and in life, is important.

BrandonGaille.com has 27 “catchy phrases” for perfect attendance. One of my favorites is “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

So, kudos to the school district for trying to address the dropout rate and working to encourage attendance at all levels.

Attendance is a skill you’ll use your whole life.