Missing too many days of school can affect the chances a senior has of graduating on time.

Sometimes students miss school for valid reasons, like a doctor’s appointment or being really sick, but sometimes students miss just to stay home.

Jameson Elliot is a senior and had to petition for his grades since he missed too many days of school. 

He had to write a letter to the school to explain why he missed so many days of school. 

“I missed over 9 days of school and because of this, I had to petition for my grades,” Elliot said. “I wrote the school board a letter and explained to them why I missed so many days of school.”

Over the years, the policy has changed. 

When students exceed the 9 days, they would have to do a half day of Saturday school. 

This was changed due to covid but are now being brought back into the school again.

Melissa Brumbaugh, the LHS librarian, used to go over the petitions with the principal and says that the policy changed a lot during covid.

“During covid we let the Saturday school go but since we have surpassed COVID, Lakeland is bringing back that policy,” Brumbaugh said. 

Some students think that every petition that goes in gets passed but that is false. There have been some cases where they were denied. 

If there is not enough detailed information explaining your reason, it does not show that there is a lot to know. 

However, if there is a lot of detailed information, it shows that there is a lot to know and that the student really cares about their grades and where they go.

Some students will not be able to graduate and have to redo their senior year. 

Chases Burcham a senior is struggling to graduate since his first semester he missed 23 days. When Chase sent in his petition, he explained that he was very sick a lot, but he always tried his best when he was at school.

“Even though I missed a lot of school days, I still tried my best and had pretty decent grades throughout the semester,” Burcham said.

When students do not care about their grades and just let them fly off their shoulders, it does not help them out. 

When they have the realization later on in school that they should care, it can be too late.