Sept. 06--They are seen by many as cultivators of old-fashioned virtues: punctuality, responsibility and that all-American ideal of stick-to-itiveness.
Yet Erie County's top public health doctor describes school "Perfect Attendance" awards with another name.
Germ-spreaders.
As the new school year gets under way, Anthony J. Billittier IV is taking a stand on awards for perfect attendance in the region's schools.
"We want that sick child home because we are worried about other people," said Billittier. "We need to weigh the risks to the general population."
The doctor's call for change was backed last week by the head of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on School Health.
Dr. Cynthia DiLaura Devore, a school physician based in Rochester, said she agrees with Billittier's position.
"We do not want sick children coming to school," said Devore. "In a district that has sick children coming to school for a quote-unquote 'perfect attendance' policy, there should be ways to work with physicians to allow students to stay home and not be penalized.
"There's nothing perfect in this world."
Perfect attendance has long earned local students glowing praise -- including in Niagara Falls, where the high school a few years ago gave out a free car each year to a teen with perfect marks for being in school each day. The cars were provided by a local car dealership that sponsored the award.
"It was a good idea," said James R. Spanbauer, principal at Niagara Falls High School. "We don't do that anymore. But traditionally we have provided prizes for students -- things like gas cards, laptops, mini-fridges. We would pull names out of a hat, out of those with perfect attendance."
Though Niagara Falls will likely continue to recognize students for attendance, Spanbauer said the school is not currently making a big deal out of the issue. He said he agrees with Billittier's larger point, about coming to school sick.
"Attendance is important, and we want students in school," Spanbauer said. "But you get sick, and sometimes you have to rest. You may come into a building feeling 75 percent, and the person next to you might have health conditions that you affect. You don't want to put other people in jeopardy."
In school districts around Western New York, school officials said the intent of the attendance awards was always to honor achieving students -- and was not tied into district wishes to maximize state aid funding, which does factor student attendance into calculations for aid levels.
"I would never have thought of that angle of it," said Scott Taylor, principal at Williamsville East High School. "We're in a situation where we have good attendance already. We more think of it as, if you're here, you can learn."
Williamsville East does recognize students with perfect attendance, but usually in modest ways, with a plaque or certificate, said Taylor.
"It's more of a recognition than a reward," he said. "The spirit of it is to promote students in their desire for learning and to be here."
"With all that goes on in families," Taylor added, "I think its an amazing feat when students do have that perfect attendance."
Billittier said he got the idea for seeking to change the attendance awards while watching a high school graduation in the Lancaster school district two years ago. He saw several students receive awards for perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade, and it made him think about the ramifications of students being in their school desks every day for 13 years straight.
"I was shocked. I was surprised by how many kids won it," Billittier said. "I thought it was remarkable that this many kids could never have been sick for 13 years."
At the doctor's urging, the Lancaster School Board considered the issue and decided to change the district's long-standing policy of rewarding students for perfect attendance.
"I'm thankful for that," said Billittier, a Lancaster resident. "I know there are probably parents out there who were not pleased. The reality of it is, public health is probably most efficient and can make the biggest impact ... on a policy level. That's what this was."
In Lancaster, School Board President David Zalenski said the board decided the doctor was right and made the policy change, which did not require a vote.
"The longer we thought about it, the more we thought it would be prudent to do," Zalenski said. "What [the awards] did was encourage students to come to school when they were probably not feeling their best -- and take the chance that their germs could spread to someone else."
Zalenski said he hasn't heard much feedback from the public since the change.
"Some of the kids that won were really proud of it," he said. "But how important is it to an academic career? ... I don't know. I think kids can afford to be out with a sick day here and there."
Edward J. Myszka, superintendent of schools in Lancaster, said that the perfect attendance award tradition -- which stretched back at least 30 years in the district -- was nice while it lasted. But he said he's not sorry to see it go.
"Times have changed. This is not the one-room schoolhouse," said Myszka. "In Lancaster, we have over 6,000 students, in all grades. I've been in education for over 40 years, and this H1N1 virus has brought a new perspective."
He said his advice to parents is simple: "Keep your child home if he or she is ill. That's the message. For their own health and safety -- and the health and safety of other children. A sick child doesn't learn."
Billittier said that as a parent -- he's the father of three teens -- he realizes decisions on when to keep a sick child home from school are not easy.
"I found that to be extremely difficult, as a parent," he said.
It helps to have objective criteria to use to make the decision on when to keep a child home, said Billittier.
For example, he listed these symptoms or illnesses as ones to keep a child home for a day: a fever of 101 degrees or more; vomiting or diarrhea; a "significant" cough and any cold or flu illnesses or symptoms.
"Life is a balance," the doctor said. "I think if parents are electing to keep their kids home every time they have a sniffle or a slight cough, I don't think they would get the education they need. You need to weigh the risks and the benefits."
cvogel@buffnews.com
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